re·pur·pose: a work in material gestures
With Carla Duarte and Lia Rousset
The project reconfigures materials associated with food, clothing and shelter within the 12×12 space at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (MCA). Repurposed bricks, sweaters and seeds are bound together into hundreds of multiples. Employing the nature of the materials, the absorbent quality of the brick juxtaposes the wicking nature of the wool to provide a structure for seeds to sprout. Tending to the needs of the system through our labor and the use of carts to garner water, heat and light from in and around the MCA, draws attention to questions of gender, labor, sustainability, and the reimagined materials.
Creating a full resource cycle, the multiples are planted in the northern garden bed of the MCA. Mustard and field pea are embedded in the sweaters and these plants pull toxins and add nitrogen through their root structures. This process remediates the Museum’s soil and revitalizes a meeting place for spontaneous social interaction.
Raid Projects — Los Angeles, California — 2010
Museum of Contemporary Art — Chicago, Illinois — 2009
