Suspended Orange Tree

Ran Morin (born 1958) is an Israeli artist, known for his statues involving full-sized living trees. Much of his work is found in Israel, notably the Floating Orange Tree located in the city streets of old Jaffa. Finished in 1993, this is a small orange tree that is elevated off of the ground by a large earthenware jug hung by metal chains from the walls of houses nearby. The tree is growing out of the pitcher, trying to break it. Morin sought to emphasize the increasing world of separation between man and nature, as “creatures that grow in containers.” This statue is hung only a foot or so off of the ground – enough to see its shadow, but not so high that it seems about to fall down.

The Jaffa orange, a label introduced by German Templers in the late 19th century and also known by their Arabic name, Shamouti orange, is an orange variety with few seeds and a tough skin that makes it particularly suitable for export. Developed by farmers in the mid-19th century, the variety takes its name from the city of Jaffa where it was first produced for export. The orange was the primary citrus export for the city. It is, along with the navel and bitter orange, one of three main varieties of the fruit grown in the Mediterranean, Southern Europe, and the Middle East. The Jaffa orange is also cultivated in Cyprus, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Turkey.

Image attribution:
Mary Madigan from Highland Park, NJ and Santa Fe, NM, USA, CC BY 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons;
צילום:ד”ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5 , via Wikimedia Commons