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Paper short abstract

We investigate the embodiment of ecological memory in objects of folk art, through digitized museum samples of embroidery and woven fabrics, decorated with the “tree of life”, focusing on the significance of this motif as coded language that narrates the connection between humans and nature.

Paper long abstract

Studying examples of digital narratives related to the representation of nature in Greek folk culture, we use digitized museum samples of embroidery and woven fabrics, decorated with the “tree of life”. The research focuses on this, as a basic central motif found in bridal embroidery and dowry fabrics (18th-early 20th century), in various local variations, sometimes decorated with colorful fruits, brightly colored flowers, birds, anthropomorphic figures, and otherwise, as part of a narrative representation with many characters depicting the ritual customs of a wedding procession. In digitized museum collections the “tree of life» is documented as a symbol of fertility, vitality, abundance, and rebirth, giving material substance to traditional practices, values, and gendered attitudes related to the cycle of life.

Using samples from Crete, the Northern Sporades, Epirus, and elsewhere, we will shed light on the multiple narratives of the “tree of life” according to the cultural context of its production and use, in connection with the aesthetic perceptions and value system of each region. Wedding embroidery in particular depicts ritual customs related to marriage, with the “tree of life” forming part of narrative and symbolic representations. By focusing on material and digital forms of storytelling, we believe that embroideries and weavings decorated with the tree of life can serve as an excellent example of how nature is mediated both through tangible artifacts and through digital technologies.

Our approach integrates folklore studies focused on the research and study of folk arts and digital folklore, with anthropological study of material culture.