Green Heritage - Autochthonous flora as a bearer of the landscape and cultural identity of Macedonia

“Green Heritage Autochthonous Flora as a Bearer of the Landscape and Cultural Identity of Macedonia” is an interdisciplinary artistic and research project that explores the role of plant life in shaping, preserving, and transmitting cultural identity. The project approaches autochthonous plant species not merely as biological or landscape elements, but as living carriers of meanings, memories, and traditions. The plant becomes a sign, the landscape becomes a space of memory, and natural heritage becomes a cultural record that continues to live through time. Through five symbolic themes Strength; Peace and the Scent of Heritage; Ancestors and Memory; Health and Protection; Renewal and Life the selected species are connected to the broader cultural landscape.
The oak symbolizes strength and longevity, the linden peace and community, the lilac memory and the scent of home, while hawthorn and junipers embody protection and spiritual strength. The abstract artworks function as a visual translation of this symbolism. Leaves, branches, flowers, and roots are transformed into lines, forms, textures, and rhythms. In this way, nature enters a contemporary visual language, while the plant evolves from a botanical species into a symbol of memory, identity, and time A particular value of the project lies in connecting artistic interpretation with landscape architecture and public space.
The visualizations demonstrate how autochthonous flora can become part of the contemporary public landscape, linking nature and culture, local identity and contemporary design, past and future “Green Heritage” reminds us that cultural heritage does not always have to be stone, an object,
a document, or an artefact. Sometimes it can be a tree, a flower, a scent, a shadow, a root, or a landscape – something that grows and changes while retaining the ability to remember. The project therefore asks not only
“What should we preserve?”, but also
“What will we allow to Preserving heritage does not simply mean protecting what already exists; it means creating the conditions for it to continue living.