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Core to the exhibition’s new works and undertaking the same name, the painted textile Tree of Heaven (Lineage) recalls from personal memory a tree of heaven (called 臭椿 or stinktree in Chinese, taxonomically Ailanthus altissima from the Ambonese word ailanto, meaning ‘tree that reaches for the sky), being removed by the NYC arborist department because it was said to harbor lanternfly eggs. Brought over during the chinoiserie boom of the 1700’s, the species was originally imported as a specimen of decorative beauty and planted widely on the street. Now considered an invasive species, its …