The second edition of Today I Would Like to Be a Tree, titled The Red Olive Tree, was conceived as a site-specific mural for Abed Al Kadiri’s solo exhibition, Genealogy of Repair, at Dumonteil Contemporary in Paris. Invited by the gallery to create a work in situ during the ten days preceding the exhibition’s private viewing on 7 October 2023, Al Kadiri began developing a new iteration of the project centered on the tree as a symbol of endurance, memory, and resilience.

As the days unfolded, the escalating violence in Gaza transformed the direction of the work. By the time the exhibition opened to the public on 17 October 2023, the mural had become The Red Olive Tree, a tribute to Palestinian children living through the devastating realities of war. The olive tree, a timeless symbol of rootedness, belonging, and resilience, was painted entirely in red, standing as both a witness to violence and a refusal of erasure. It became a living memorial to childhood interrupted by conflict and an act of artistic solidarity with those enduring unimaginable loss.

Following the architectural composition of the original 2020 murals, fragments of works on paper were assembled to form the tree, extending the project’s visual language into a new historical moment. The project also extended beyond the exhibition through a fundraising initiative, with proceeds donated to the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF) to support children affected by the war.

The Red Olive Tree marked a significant evolution of Today I Would Like to Be a Tree, demonstrating how the project continues to respond to moments of collective rupture by transforming artistic practice into acts of remembrance, care, and solidarity.