everything that was directly lived has moved away into a representation

The story of this tree, nick-named "The Cursed Fig," is as complex and textured as its photographs. You'll find it inhabiting the walls of an ancient French prison in the port of Petit Canal, Guadeloupe. From the 17th to 19th Centuries this port was where African slave ships landed on the island. The prison was one of the first structures those unfortunate people encountered on their forced march to the colony's sugar cane fields. Local legend says the soul of one of their revolutionary leaders inhabits this tree. And in a poetic turn-around, its giant, fan-shaped roots are slowly, maybe even excruciatingly, tearing apart the symbol that once jailed him.

The quote is by Guy Debord

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