Leela Keshav


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      Archive of Stolen Seeds
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      Field Guide to the Botanical Imaginary
      Hauntings from the Sixth Extinction
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      The Specimenisation of Sequoia
      The Seven Circles of Manoomin
      To Find a Waiting Fossil    
      Unmapping Landscape       

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The Specimenisation of Sequoia

The Specimenisation of Sequoia reflects on the deforestation of redwood trees on the west coast of Turtle Island and the simultaneous redwood mania of the English elite. In their homeland, millenia-old trees were chopped for hardwood; in England, they were planted in gardens and estates as a status symbol. 

The book contrasts these parallel stories, showing 19th-century images found in Kew’s archives alongside 35mm film photographs of Kew’s own redwood grove. It asks the question: at what point did Sequoia become a specimen?