UK Edition
Empty Lot at the Tate Modern: how seedlings represent hope
A new exhibition has taken up residence in the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall and entitled Empty Lot, it will focus on change, hope and nature within the city.
Developed by Mexican artist Abraham Cruzvillegas, the sculpture is essentially made up of 240 triangular raised beds, filled with 23 tonnes of soil from gardens and parks across London, such as Peckham Rye and Regent’s Park. The artist has refrained from planting anything; however that is the point of the installation. The hope is, that with regular watering, seeds and organisms within the soil will sprout, creating plants, weeds, flowers and mushrooms from just bare soil.
The geometrically designed sculpture will be supported by scaffolding – meaning that visitors can walk underneath the platforms, ensuring that all angles of the installation can be observed. The sculpture will also be lit by lampposts which have been made simply using materials from building sites close to the Tate, following on the theme of finding materials and improvising which Abraham advocates.
Whilst the installation is an interesting metaphor for hope rising from barely nothing, it also encompasses many of Abraham’s key interests, such as seed bombing and guerrilla gardening, as well as ‘chinampas’ (grids of earth used to cultivate key South American crops, such as peppers and corn which eventually became Mexico City).
Abraham grew up in Mexico City, and in keeping with Empty Lot he also has a bank of work under the title of ‘self-construction’. A term referring to the way Mexicans of older generations arrived in the capital from rural areas and built their houses in stages, sourcing whatever they could from the locality.
The exhibition is the first of the Tate Modern’s Hyundai Commission – an exciting new system of annual commissions, whereby an international artist will bring along an installation to provoke debate and thought.
Abraham Cruzvillegas’ exhibition Empty Lot runs until the 3rd April 2016, as part of the The Hyundai Commission, at the Tate Modern.
#EmptyLot
The Tate Modern is asking for anyone who visits the exhibition, to share any plants/mushrooms/flowers they find with #EmptyLot. Here's a selection of the best so far.