Hiên Lâm Duc — Kurdistan, vivre sous les arbres

Exhibition from June 6 to November 10, 2024

Abbaye Royale de l’Epau
Rue de l’Estérel, Yvré-l’Évêque, France

Opening on 7 June 2024

North of Erbil, in the Barzan valley, around the town of Aqra or in the foothills of the Zagros mountains that separate Iraq from Iran, close to Lake Dukan, the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan has little in common with the other regions of the country administered by the central government in Baghdad. The region is mountainous, and while it offers a prime hiding place for the forces of the PKK, Baghdad’s ally against the Islamic State (but considered a terrorist organization on the Turkish side), it also shapes people’s relationship with nature. Here, every tree has its own story, and every village has its own myths and legends about trees. In every village, a tree serves as a meeting place. The branches of the barous (large Kurdish oaks) provide huts and swings for children when families gather to picnic or celebrate Newroz (the Kurdish New Year).