'Uncultivated'
Uncultivated is an ongoing public art project consisting of photographs, a corresponding website (http://uncultivated.info), and commercial displays (transit posters, billboards) representing urban landscapes over an extended period of time via their wild plant life. Started in Baltimore, MD in late 2010, the project has grown to include locations in Chicago, IL, New Orleans, LA, and Brooklyn, NY.
Commonly known as ‘weeds,’ the project draws attention to the tiny pockets of wildness within the urban environment in order to raise awareness about an aspect of nature that most people ignore and to challenge the common practice of privileging certain parts of nature at the expense of others. The project also attempts to record and raise awareness about how the urban landscape is evolving over time due to the effects of global climate change.
Each printed image in the project is displayed with a QR code that, when scanned with a mobile device, leads to its corresponding webpage containing detailed information on all the plants found in the image, the location, and the date it was taken. All together, the photographs, public displays, and project website form a virtual and physical tour of wild urban plant life while describing the unintended consequences of human action upon the land.
++ Clicking on the location coordinates below will lead to the project website featuring information on the plant species in each of the photographs.
Photo credits: Lynn Cazabon