ARTS DIARY: Epic film trips root out Rose of Jericho.Byline: BY PHILIP KEY Philip Key may refer to:
FILM-MAKER Anna Lucas was fascinated by strange plants on sale in her market. It was a fascination that led her on two epic journeys, the subject of her new film work, Here And Your Here, which opened at the weekend at FACT, in Liverpool's Wood Street. The two expeditions led her to the deserts of the Middle East and the jungles of Peru, each time in search of living specimens of the plant she had discovered at her local market in Brixton. "I have lived in Brixton 15 years but had not looked into all the shops or stalls and seen all the plants on sale being used by different communities for different reasons." A cafe owner told her about Una de Gato una de gato (ōōˑ·ny , or Cat's Claw, a plant said to have anti-inflammatory benefits in treating everything from kidney and liver disease Liver Disease Definition Liver disease is a general term for any damage that reduces the functioning of the liver. Description The liver is a large, solid organ located in the upper right-hand side of the abdomen. to cancer. A visit to a local shop selling Catholic items like Madonnas and prayers together with herbs was her introduction to Kaff Mariam, or Rose of Jericho. "There were these dried plants like small fists lying on newspaper with a sign Rose of Jericho, pounds 2 and pounds 4." She purchased one and was given a prayer which suggested that it should be put in water and the water sprinkled on the threshold of a home to bring "peace and power in abundance". As an early project, she researched the market stalls and produce, with the nearby South London Botanical Institute The South London Botanical Institute was founded in 1910 by Allan Octavian Hume, a former civil servant for the British Raj in India. After returning to England in 1894 Hume turned his attention to horticulture, which eventually led him to create the Institute in a large Victorian , "two communities which appeared different but which shared similarities". It was when she had a commission from FACT that she was able to go in search of her two plants. She travelled through the Holy Land in search of the Rose of Jericho with her target, naturally, being Jericho. The Palestinian people For other uses of "Palestinian", see Definitions of Palestine and Palestinian. Palestinian people (Arabic: الشعب الفلسطيني, were very friendly, always helpful. "I travelled with my tripod and camera in a rucksack, the dried plant in a pocket and whenever people started talking I started filming." Everyone knew the plant, knew where to find it, had samples. Unfortunately, she never did find a living specimen and learned later that her version of the Rose of Jericho actually grew in the Americas. She had more luck and an equally friendly reception in Peru where she found three men drinking the plant in an alcoholic drink at eight in the morning. She travelled to the jungle by air, a 24-hour boat trip and dirt roads and there she did find her plant growing. "It had to be in dense jungle as the plant needs shade and if the jungle is harvested too much it won't grow," she explains. Her two 23-minute films will be showing side by side on large screens at FACT while in another gallery there will be film of her research at Brixton market Brixton Market is a street market in the centre of Brixton, south London, England, and the adjacent covered market areas in nearby arcades such as Market Row and "Brixton Village" (formerly Granville Arcade). The market sells African and Caribbean produce. and the botanical institute. THE exhibition will run at FACT until August 19. Dried plants like small fists philkey@dailypost.co.uk CAPTION(S): A Bedouin goat herder leads Anna Lucas into the desert in search of the elusive plant |
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