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Burleigh Street, MANCHESTER, M15 6ET

On the north side of Whitworth Park.

Native to China and Taiwan, its heavenly sounding name stems from its tendency to quickly grow skyward. It can reach 15 metres in height in just 25 years. In recent years its reputation has become more sinister and it has been dubbed "the tree of hell" due to its invasive, anti-social tendencies. It sends out suckers that can smother other plants, it emits a poison to stop other species growing nearby and has a smell described as "rancid cashew nuts". So, all things considered, this attractive tree may not be so heavenly after all. This tree in Whitworth Park by the Denmark Road gates is on the University of Manchester Tree Trail https://uom.treetrail.co.uk/#TreeOfHeaven

At the gate by Denmark Road, surrounded by giants of a similar height, this graceful tree doesn't look strikingly tall at first until you consider it's much younger than the other trees by several decades. Native to China and Taiwan, its heavenly sounding name stems from its tendency to quickly grow skyward. It can reach 15 metres in height in just 25 years. In recent years its reputation has become more sinister and it has been dubbed "the tree of hell" due to its invasive, anti-social tendencies. It sends out suckers that can smother other plants, it emits a poison to stop other species growing nearby and has a smell described as "rancid cashew nuts". So, all things considered, this attractive tree may not be so heavenly after all. This tree in Whitworth Park by the Denmark Road gates is on the University of Manchester Tree Trail https://www.uom.treetrail.co.uk/#TreeOfHeaven

Outpatient tuberculosis clinic. Now demolished.

‘Bending Figure’, one of Raqs Media Collective’s ‘Coronation Park’ sculptures, was installed in the park in 2017 as part of the Whitworth Art Gallery’s “Raqs Media Collective: Twilight Language” exhibition which ran between on 30 September 2017 and 25 February 2018. The sculpture includes quotations from George Orwell’s "Shooting an Elephant" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_Elephant .

‘Bending Figure’, one of Raqs Media Collective’s ‘Coronation Park’ sculptures, was installed in the park in 2017 as part of the Whitworth Art Gallery’s “Raqs Media Collective: Twilight Language” exhibition which ran between on 30 September 2017 and 25 February 2018. There are three circular discs attached to the sculpture with the words: “One could have imagined him thousands of years old. He fired again into the same spot.” “But he did not want to shoot the elephant.” “And then down he came, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground.” Quotations from George Orwell’s "Shooting an Elephant” "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_Elephant which describes the experience of the English narrator, possibly Orwell himself, called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant while working as a police officer in Burma. Because the locals expect him to do the job, he does so against his better judgment, his anguish increased by the elephant's slow and painful death. The story is regarded as a metaphor for British imperialism, and for Orwell's view that "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys (http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/ The Literature Network).

‘Bending Figure’, one of Raqs Media Collective’s ‘Coronation Park’ sculptures was installed in the park in 2017 as part of the Whitworth Art Gallery’s “Raqs Media Collective: Twilight Language” exhibition which ran between on 30 September, 2017 and 25 February, 2018. There are three circular discs attached to the sculpture with the words: “One could have imagined him thousands of years old. He fired again into the same spot.” “But he did not want to shoot the elephant.” “And then down he came, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground.” Quotations from George Orwell’s "Shooting an Elephant” "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shooting_an_Elephant which describes the experience of the English narrator, possibly Orwell himself, called upon to shoot an aggressive elephant while working as a police officer in Burma. Because the locals expect him to do the job, he does so against his better judgment, his anguish increased by the elephant's slow and painful death. The story is regarded as a metaphor for British imperialism, and for Orwell's view that "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys (http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/ The Literature Network).

Leading towards Oxford Road.

One of the Coronation Park sculptures by the Raqs Media Collective http://www.raqsmediacollective.net/ on display in Whitworth Park outside the Whitworth Art Gallery. This one has become a permanent acquisition.

One of the Coronation Park sculptures by the Raqs Media Collective http://www.raqsmediacollective.net/ on display in Whitworth Park outside the Whitworth Art Gallery. This one has become a permanent acquisition.