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2023 | Pen on paper, pen plotter, Python, AppleScript, ash | 72 x 27 x 23 in.
Tree of heaven is an invasive species frequently found in the cracks of New England pavement. Its prosperity feeds off our incessant attack on natural growth in urban landscapes. Categorized as a threat in its environment, the existence and prosperity of invasive species are symptoms of our systemic actions, showcasing the failures in our attitudes towards built environments and nature.
In 1968, the FBI headquarters sent a memorandum to local offices. This document outlined twelve possible actions to take against “the new left”, a category left undefined by the US government which acted as a catchall for groups focused on cultural change in the US. These groups include Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), the Black Panther Party, the Youth International Party, and the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam (MOBE), among others. Led by J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI created COINTELPRO to illegally target these organizations and their leaders who had been deemed a cultural threat. In 1971, files were stolen from Media, Pennsylvania, revealing the illegal and immoral COINTELPRO activities of the US intelligence agency.
COINTELPRO files are publicly available on the FBI Vault website.
