4K Digital Animation, 00:08:28.

Trapped examines the Lebanese Cedar’s use as a symbol within present-day Lebanon’s political and social spheres amidst changes to the country’s climate and ecology. The ongoing disruption of the tree’s natural habitat—for example by human-induced global warming and the construction of luxury ski resorts, natural parks, trails, and high-end residential lots—is forcing changes to the Cedar’s shape and location. At the same time, the aesthetic, symbolic representation of the Lebanese Cedar—found on Lebanon’s flag and currency—remains resolutely fixed, a static ornament used to fuel national, economic, and political agendas. The Lebanese Cedar is simultaneously glorified and destroyed, torn between religious, touristic, and domestic activities.

A Symbol of Immortality, A Victim of Erasure

The Lebanese Cedar tree has long been celebrated for its association with immortality and eternal life. Robert Fisk aptly captured its mystique, stating, “Cedars know the history of the earth better than history itself.” This sentiment resonates with the historical and spiritual reverence that has surrounded the tree for millennia. Mythologies and scriptures alike have immortalized the Cedar as a divine entity, resilient and enduring.

However, the reality of the Cedar is starkly different. Once stretching across vast swaths of the Levant, today’s Cedar forests are fragmented and isolated, reduced to scattered groves on Mount Lebanon, northern Syria, and southern Turkey. Ancient narratives of the tree’s prevalence persist, contrasting sharply with its current ecological state. This dissonance reflects the Cedar’s entanglement in Lebanon’s political and social landscapes, where its symbolic weight outweighs its ecological reality.

Deforestation, driven by human activity since ancient times, has devastated the Cedar’s habitat. The forests of Mount Lebanon were first cleared for agriculture, timber, and trade, beginning a cycle of environmental bleeding . Modern-day construction of luxury ski resorts, high-end residential lots, and eco-tourism infrastructure continues this trend, further degrading the Cedar’s habitat. These developments not only endanger the Cedar but also threaten entire ecosystems, pushing neighboring plants and animals to the brink of extinction.

Historical Narratives of Abstraction 

The Cedar’s story of commodification is as old as recorded history. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Cedar Forest was depicted as a prize of conquest. Gilgamesh and Enkidu slayed Humbaba, the mythical guardian of the forest, and proceeded to cut down its trees as a display of human dominance over nature. This glorification of ecological destruction established a narrative that has persisted for centuries, legitimizing the  capitalization of natural resources as a mark of progress and power.

This ancient precedent set the stage for centuries of human intervention in the Cedar’s existence. In more recent times, the Cedar has been appropriated as a symbol of modern Lebanon, its image fixed on the national flag and currency. Yet, this static emblematic status contrasts with the tree’s dynamic and fragile ecological reality.

The Cedar as a Static Emblem of Power

With the establishment of nation states in the Levant by colonial France and the British empire , the Cedar has been co-opted as a symbol of national pride and identity, its image manipulated to serve various political and ideological agendas. For the far-right and fascist movements within Lebanon, the Cedar has become a tool to perpetuate exclusionary narratives of xenophobia and Lebanese supremacy. These groups weaponize the tree’s image to draw rigid boundaries of belonging, reducing its significance to a narrow, divisive ideology.

Conversely, opposition parties and movements—including the progressive  left, pan-Arabists, Palestinian resistance groups, and pan-Syrian contingents—have reimagined the Cedar as a symbol of unity and compassion. While these interpretations may appear more inclusive, they too instrumentalize the Cedar, shaping its image to fit political agendas rather than addressing the realities of its ecological survival. In both cases, the tree’s identity is overshadowed by its symbolic utility, rendering it a pawn in the struggle for power and control or as an anti fascist and anti-colonial symbol of solidarity.

Religious Co-Option: The Cedar as a Divine Relic

Beyod traditional secular politics, the Cedar has been deeply embedded in religious narratives, particularly within the Maronite Church, where it is revered as a divine relic. Frequently mentioned in the Old and New Testaments, the Cedar holds significant spiritual symbolism, representing power, salvation, and a connection to higher divinity. The Maronite Church has amplified this reverence, using the tree as a visual and physical manifestation of its authority.

Yet, this religious co-option traps the Cedar in cloistered worlds of allegory and doctrine, depriving it of its ecological agency. Instead of existing as a thriving, dynamic species within Lebanon’s forests, the Cedar is confined to the role of a sacred icon, isolated from its cultural surroundings beyond the church,  natural habitat, and intrinsic value.

Colonial Legacies and the Cedar’s Objectification

The Cedar’s  entrapment extends beyond local politics and religion to the broader context of colonialism. During the French colonial regime in Lebanon, the Cedar’s habitat was further degraded as colonial authorities sought to reshape Lebanese identity through cultural and economic manipulation. Luxury ski resorts, sports competitions, and Western recreational venues were established in Lebanese mountains, the Cedars ecozone, not to promote economic prosperity, but to instill a sense of French identity among Lebanese citizens.

This colonial strategy turned the Cedar into a tool of demographic control and cultural engineering. The tree was objectified as an attraction, its territories divided and colonized to create a veneer of Western modernity. This legacy persists today, as Lebanon’s Cedars continue to be commodified for tourism and real estate, their ecological needs secondary to human ambitions.

The Cedar as a Commodity

Perhaps the most damning aspect of the Cedar’s modern existence is its reduction to a commodity. Stripped of its intrinsic value, the tree has been transformed into a decorative motif, adorning products and consumer goods. From souvenirs to branding materials, the Cedar’s image is recycled endlessly, disconnected from its ecological roots.

This commodification exemplifies the broader capitalist tendency to strip nature of its inherent worth, reducing it to a means of economic gain. The Cedar, once a living symbol of resilience and eternity, is now another victim of a global system that prioritizes profit over preservation. Its transformation into a “forever commodity” underscores the urgency of reevaluating humanity’s relationship with the natural world.

An Urgent Call for Reconnection

The plight of the Lebanese Cedar reflects the broader ecological crisis facing our planet. The tree’s duality—simultaneously glorified and destroyed—serves as a powerful metaphor for humanity’s fraught relationship with nature. As climate change accelerates, the Cedar’s survival is further threatened, forcing it to migrate to higher altitudes in search of stable conditions. This displacement mirrors the experiences of human refugees, highlighting the interconnectedness of ecological and social injustices.

To protect the Cedar, and by extension the ecosystems it anchors, it is imperative to move beyond its symbolic and commodified roles. Conservation efforts must prioritize the tree’s ecological needs over its cultural and economic utility, allowing it to exist as a dynamic, autonomous being within its habitat.

The Lebanese Cedar is more than a tree; it is a living witness to millennia of human history, a symbol of resilience and eternity. Yet, its survival is far from guaranteed. Co-opted by political, religious, and colonial agendas, and commodified by capitalist systems, the Cedar’s story is one of  destruction and erasure. To truly honor the Cedar and nature at large, we must reimagine our relationship with it—not as a static emblem or commodity but as a vital part of the ecosystems that sustain us all. Only by addressing the urgent threats to its survival can we ensure that the Cedar remains a symbol not just of endurance but of a renewed harmony between humanity and nature.

This project was made possible with generous support from The Arab Fund for Art & Culture Fine Arts Grant (2020).

“Screens Series: EcoRove” is curated by Ian Wallace, Curatorial Assistant.