THE ROOT OF GREEN GORSE

This project has its origin in the plant Ulex Europaeus, known in my native Galicia (Spain) as tojo, a species deeply rooted in the cultural and landscape identity of the region. In the 1950s, this plant was introduced in Colombia under the name retamo espinoso, for purposes of reforestation and erosion control. However, in the Colombian ecosystem, its uncontrolled spread has led to it being considered today an invasive species, classified as one of the greatest threats to local biodiversity.

This phenomenon highlights the impact of plant migrations induced by human intervention, as well as the complex relationships between species across different geographic and cultural contexts. The classification of retamo as a threat has triggered eradication strategies which, while aiming to mitigate its negative effects, also raise questions about policies of controlling nature and the underlying narratives of domination embedded within them.

From this critical perspective, the project interrogates the dynamics of power involved in categorizing a species as “invasive,” proposing a viewpoint that regards plants not merely as passive objects within the landscape, but as political actors with their own agency in processes of colonization, ecology, and territorial transformation. Taking the tojo–retamo case across two distinct geographies as a starting point, this project seeks to build a translocal bridge that enables dialogue about the interaction between humans and their natural environment.