A two-volume set that combines Moroccan-French artist Yto Barrada’s A Guide to Trees for Governors and Gardeners and A Guide to Fossils for Forgers and Foreigners, these two “guidebooks” are mock manuals full of art, photographs, calculations, and text that collectively propose witty and satirical narratives on the world.
In A Guide to Trees for Governors and Gardeners, you will find advice on how to prepare and landscape your city before the arrival of a high-ranking official, including cleaning instructions, botanical choices, flags, music, and much more. In this lighthearted but poignant visual satire, Barrada explores how prosperity is faked during official visits. A Guide to Fossils for Forgers and Foreigners takes you to the Atlas Mountains of Morocco, where you will encounter slices of geologic history, a desert that was once a paradise, and the tourism economy of forging and selling fake fossils, in Barrada’s trademark humor and wit.