I paint and etch the bark of the London plane tree because of its map-like patterns. It is London’s commonest tree; the best at removing pollution: London’s ‘black dust’. It is said to be a hybrid of Platanus orientalis (the oriental plane) and Platanus occidentalis (the American sycamore), a match that could only have occurred with human intervention. London is embodied in the plane’s international DNA with its ability to cope with dirt and grit of the urban environment.