Material #4: Water Clock
I came across the work of artist Mary Mattingly through her big “Water Clock” installation in Socrates Sculpture Park by NYC’s East River.
As its description put it, Water Clock is made with “Steel, vessels, found materials, East River water, and salt-tolerant, edible plants.”
It continues:
“Materials that are commonly used in industrial agriculture — IBC bins, 55 gallon drums, and stock tanks — have been refashioned into generative spaces for living organisms, demonstrating the potential of everyday objects to inspire new ways of thinking about sustainability and self-sufficiency.”
The water clock’s rhythm was kept going by water from the nearby estuary (East River, despite its name, is an estuary), moving through tubes into the vessels “evoking a life support system”.
Since then I have continued following her work, which includes the project “Wearable homes”.
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Through 2024, It’s Material is sharing one use of the word “material” each week, on Tuesdays.