YARD X YARD

East Haddam, CT / Summer 2023 / I-Park Residency / Mapmaking, Environmental Communication, Material Exploration, Soils

YARD x YARD maps two ground conditions at I-Park Residency (where I was a resident in July 2023) at 1:1 scale: a grass lawn and a mossy patch. By selecting two discrete plant conditions, each roughly one yard by two yards, one can visually understand the variable ecological value of each.

Grass Lawn provides virtually no ecological services. Requiring weekly cutting, very few insects or birds rely on this ground cover for habitat or sustenance. Lawns are also frequently sites where harmful pollutants are introduced in the form of fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. For this reason, the grass lawn is represented as off-white, illustrating its non- contribution to its surrounding ecosystem.

Moss Patch provides many hidden ecological services. The textile is lifted from the ground in order to express the moisture and nutrients the mosses hold within an ecological community, thus supporting adjacent plant life. Though not often a direct habitat or source of food for animals larger than the microscopic, these ancient mosses–the first land plants–still contribute significantly to ecosystems. The mosses are, therefore, shown in medium tones.

Visitors were welcome to touch the textiles to experience the ground

conditions by hand as well as sight!