Project: Liberation Flowers
What is “Project Liberation Flowers”?
Lawns are a symbol of class, aristocracy and racism
Emerging 500 years ago, the lawns of the royal and noble French and British elites were a patch of monoculture grass with little to no food, medicinal or environmental purpose. This seemingly useless use of land had only one use, to show that someone wealthy and lived in the home and they had to extra time and money to put into an ornamental landscape.
American lawns are responsible for 168 million lbs. of herbicide and pesticide runoffs, which more often than not finds its way into the water supply of lower income folks.
After discovering this, I felt compelled to make a piece that could bring awareness to the wastful practice of having a lawn. I put together an identity that would help me tackle this issue with humor and playfulness. Using a high-visability vest I aquired from a near by construciton site I began making my disguise.
I created a short “script” that I would recite back to anyone that questioned my reasoning of being at a site and I stuck to it. Concise and to the point, I would tell them:
“I am with Project Liberation Flowers, this site has been chosen for liberation. My goal is to plant this flower, I am unable to disclose further information. Thank you for your time.”
Once you have found a suitible space, follow these steps:
- dig a hole about 2’ wide and 1.5’ deep
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gently place the Black Eyed Susan flower into the hole while reciting good intentions toward its growth
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fill the hole with all the excavated soil
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pound in the stakes with a brick, the stakes are prepared at my studio and kept in my toolbox while I am on site.
- pound in the stake with a QR code attatched. This QR code is vital in spreading my message across the globe. When scanned, it redirects you to a manifesto I have written to educate the world on the damages made by lawns.
- water the freshly planted flower for three full rotations.
map of site locations
Site 1: 501 Russell Blvd, Davis, CA 95616_10/20/20 11:41 PM (update jan 3rd 2022- the flower has been killed.)Site 2: 526 B St, Davis, CA 95616_10/25/20 2:09 PM (update jan 3rd 2022- liberation is starting)
Site 3: Downtown Core, Davis, CA 95616_10/29/20 4:46 PM (update jan 3rd 2022- the flower has been killed.)
Site 1
Site 2
Site 3
