Project Description:
Part 1:
To plant native seeds on Superfund Sites in Silicon Valley. These seeds will be host plants to attract butterflies of this region to the Superfund Sites. The seeds will be dispersed as seed sculptures fashioned after computer wafers referencing the prior use of these sites. The seed sculptures will be composed of a variety of native plants seeds suggested by the Santa Clara Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. An exhibition at UC Davis in the Nelson Gallery will take place on April 25th, 2006. This exhibition will present maps and information about the Superfund sites accompanied by a seed sculpture workshop, video screening and lecture.
Seed Sculpture Workshop: {date TBD}{link to poster}
The Seed Sculpture workshop will take place during the first week of the UC Davis exhibition. It will be hosted by the student co-operative gardens at the Domes at UC Davis and the Design Department. This workshop IS open to the public. The gallery will be set up as a workshop / info center. The workshop will be modeled after the workshops in Guiyu, Guangdong China where workers disassemble computer chips from American computers. (see photo to the right) We will assemble a table with bowls filled with native plant seeds- natures memory... The seed sculptures will be made into forms mimicking computer wafers, i.e. computer chips. These sculptures will be displayed at the Nelson Gallery for the duration of the exhibit. If we receive permission from land owners of Superfund sites, we will proceed to plant the seed sculptures in the soil of Superfund sites to grow and attract local butterfly populations.
Biodegradable Parachute Workshop: {date TBD}{link to poster}
The Biodegradable Parachute workshop will be a half-day workshop. It will be focused on designing small parachutes from biodegradable materials. This workshop will be open to the public. It will serve as an interface to discuss issues surrounding the project. A library of biodegradable films and polymers and supplies will be on hand to design unique parachutes to carry seed packets onto Superfund sites. The use of biodegradable materials will serve as an entry point to discuss green process and sustainable design alternatives.
Lecture by: Kate Scow of the Dept. of Land, Air and Water Resources Part 2:
Free Soil Biodiesel Bus Tour of Superfund Sites in Silicon Valley
The second part will be a Biodiesel bus tour of the sites in August 2006 during an international arts festival hosted in San Jose. This tour has been commissioned by the International Socitey for Electronic Arts.
Current Status:
-On display at Carnegie Mellon, Groundworks Exhibition {Link}
-Seeking permission to enter the land of the chosen Superfund sites
-- We will not enter land without permission --
-Preparing for ISEA 2006
Partners:
Nelson Gallery, UC Davis (Curator Renny Pritikin)
UC Davis Design Department
Arthur M. Shapiro, Ph.D., Professor of Entomology, Evolution + Ecology
ISEA: International Socitey for Electronic Arts
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