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Leaving Tree

You are going on a journey. This track asks you to look up and listen. It asks where our speakers are from, what they might consider home and how it felt to leave that place. You are invited to listen to interviews about leaving. You are then asked to take a journey to the second tree and consider what these trees might have experienced since they were planted.

Arriving Tree

You have taken a journey. This track reflects on the Gingko Biloba Tree, its history and heritage, and how we might connect to it. You are invited to listen to interviews about arriving. The track considers what the trees have witnessed over time and how the landscape might have changed. It asks our speakers how it felt to arrive in a new home and how they have adapted to this new landscape, like the trees.

Future Trees

This track reflects on the Gingko Biloba Tree saplings in front of you, and the world they might grow into. You are invited to take a seat on a bench next to the trees and look around the environment. The track considers what the trees will witness over time and how the landscape might change. It asks our speakers, four young people, how it will feel to grow older and how they will adapt to this new landscape, like the trees. You are left with a moment of reflection and contemplation in this space – an opportunity to see the future through the stories of our speakers. 

Credits: We would like to thank the project funder (Nottingham Confucius Institute), interviewees and participants at the preview event at UoN Diversity Festival for their feedback. We would particularly like to thank Hua Geddes (NCI), Fangfang Xie (NCI), Prof. Neil Hughes (CLAS), Prof. Nicola McLelland (CLAS), Dr Tara Webster-Deakin (CLAS), Sam Robinson (CLAS), Ian Leroux (CLAS), Victoria Waring (HR) and Julie Thomas (HR), Dale Coates (Estates office) for their support of Talking Trees/树说/述说. Thanks to Manchester School of Art and AHEAD (Arts and Humanities Engagement and Discourse), Manchester Met. Thanks to Nottinghamshire County Council and Rushcliffe Borough Council for their support. 
Video / Photographs: Ai Narapol / Yellow Pocket Studios
Sound: Chris Cousin
Text: Lan Guo / Michael Pinchbeck
Voices: Lan Guo, Songbo, Zhuo Earl, Qing Shan, Howard Wat, Hwee Er Teo.
Project Leads: Lan Guo / Michael Pinchbeck