Solar Bloom Irrigation System with Drip Tape Technology, 2014-17

Kinetic sculpture, motor, Dibond, oilcloth, aluminum frame, arduino, selected field notes, digital photograph, cotton bolls and water from the Ogallala aquifer

Solar Bloom Irrigation System is a speculative irrigation unit designed for the harsh dry climate of the southwest. It is intended to collect, store and distribute rainwater and seeks to elevate the stress placed on the Ogallala aquifer for crop irrigation in the region. It takes its design from native plants – yucca, agave and low setting cacti specifically. The structure therefore mimics nature’s design in the hopes of working with it, rather than against it. It functions as such:

1: solar panels, located on the device’s exterior when closed, collect and store solar energy during times of harsh sunlight (photosynthesis)

2: during rain, device opens and collects rainwater, storing it in a submerged tank buried beneath the surface. Device will close once rain stops. (succulent leaf structure)

3: during drought, device will pump water out though a series of sub-surface drip tubes to surrounding plants. (root system) 

4: repeat cycle 

Station Right: 

Chemical Flag with Transgenic cotton seed, 2017

Speed Zone ™, Roundup ™, Prowl ™, ChemSurf 90 ™, Affect GC ™, turf dye and water on 100% cotton sheet, plastic vacuum seal bag, grommets, dirt, iPad, mason jars with Monsanto’s Delta Pine DP1830B2XF ™ & DP1612B2XF ™ transgenic cottonseed

Seeking work during the summer of 2017, I found my way back to the family farm in West Texas. Equipped with a pressurized backpack sprayer and a concoction of herbicides and pesticides I was sent into the cotton fields to cultivate. Row after row I was confronted with a current mode of crop production that implements an anthropocentric agency over the land. Questioning economic interests, consumer demand, and quantity of product over quality and sustainability, I decided to create an homage to Monsanto, the omnipresent hand guiding this agribusiness. Using my sprayer and chemicals as painting tool and medium, I test the ecological effects of chemical use, the manufacturing of GMO cottonseed, and the demand for monoculture crop production on the product itself, cotton.