Transfer of a palm tree (Paris, 2007) (Unrealised project idea developed after realisation of a temporary garden in Paris, 2006 / 07 by Rahel Hegnauer / www.rahelhegnauer.ch.) Summary of the project idea Transfer: Transfer of a palm tree - usually a decoratif item of Jardin de Luxembourg, a puplic garden of the 17th century situated in the south of Paris, La rive gauche. an upper class area – to the north of Paris, to Square Léon, in the 18th arrondissement, a residential area of immigrants of various countries, especially from the continent of Africa. In return the street sign (Rue de Tombouctou) will be placed in Jardin de Luxembourg. Background and idea of the project: The palm tree is a reminder of the colonial past of the European emperors. Uprooted from its place somewhere in the south hemisphere it was an exotic pleasure and attraction to the contemplating eyes of „Madames et Messieurs“ of the 17th century. As it is a plant of the tropic zones of the world it has to be kept inside during winter. The fragility of the plant symbolises to me the precarious situation of the immigrant coming from far, not allowed or not being able to take roots in a new place. Like the tree kept in a huge kind of a flower pot, the immigrant is rooted in a segregated space. By transfering the palm tree out of its „usual“ surrounding into a neighbourhood where the inhabitants „face the same fate“ as the palm tree, we get confronted with our (European colonial) past as well as with the acknowledgement how much we have incorporated and absorbed from other parts of the world. Details of Transfer: The transfer of the palm tree will be through the big Boulevards (Saint Michel, San Sébastopol, Magenta, Barbès). The transfer itself is part of the project and it will be documented by film and photographs. The tree will be a guest at Square Léon for a period of time during the summer 2007.