An ecosystem artwork that transforms waste into a colorful indoor water feature for growing edible plants. Waste streams of uneaten food, old tea-bags, newspapers already read and throw-away plastic household objects are interrupted and turned into lettuce, basil, wheatgrass and herbs. The plants live in plastic containers sourced from thrift stores and they are fed by nutrient-rich water recycling throughout the system. All nutrients come from food and paper waste that is transformed by composting worms within the system. They hide beneath the layers of wheatgrass in the system.

 

This project was built during a week-long residency at Spaces Gallery in Cleveland, Ohio. It was part of the exhibition, Farmed: The New Agronomists. May 13 – July 10, 2011 Curated by Christopher Lynn. Artists in the show: Arzu Ozkal, Nanette Yannuzzi, Michael Mercil, Sara Rabinowitz and Amy Youngs.

My residency at Spaces Gallery was made possible in part through support from the National Performance Network’s Visual Artists Network. Major contributors are the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, and the Nathan Cummings Foundation.

Special thanks to the Spaces Gallery staff for their support and help with my project.

  • Building a Rainbow 2011
  • Materials Bathtub, sink, thrift store plastics and toys, plants, hydroton clay balls, water pump and microcontroller.
  • Exhibited Spaces Gallery, Cleveland, OH.