Garden Dwelling
Garden of Dwellings is an installation of felted homes intertwined by a spiraling structure of bittersweet vines, which house their inhabitants. Taking the form of niches, dens, and nests, each home learns from creatures living on the edges between human intention and neglect. As climate change intensifies, the way we use shared spaces must change. Can we use this inevitable shift as an opportunity to reassess how making a home can become an act of care for our communities and our environments? The materials used in Garden of Dwellings—wool and bittersweet vine—exist at the intersection of human and nonhuman: they are both produced by nonhuman life, and yet their pervasiveness is a direct consequence of human action. Many people classify the vine as an ‘invasive species,’ but close examination of how it has spread reveals, and forces us to reckon with, our own invasiveness and harm to the environment. Likewise, careful consideration of wool asks us to reflect on the millennia long human intervention of curating and selectively caring for the animals that produce wool. Can reflecting on the materials we use to construct our homes help us to live a more integrated life in our ever-changing world?
Materials: Dyed and Undyed natural wool, Bittersweet Vine, Natural Fiber Twine
Creation Year: 2024
Size: 84 x 60 x 80 inches
Photography by Tian Yang