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A Contemplative Field
New York, NY
An interactive and living garden and public art proposal serving as a meditation space.
A Contemplative Field is a response to create a living garden as both a meditation space and one that can be transported to exterior sites and interior gallery locations. Alison Duncan proposes to create a living and ever-changeable garden composed of 36 'vessels' referencing Mark Coleman’s 36 meditations described in his book Awake In the Wild. The vessels can be arranged in an array of variation and materiality creating both visual and experiential interaction for any number of participants.
The dynamic between the vessels, which represent a micro nature, and the digital projections of the macro nature should serve as a stimulating contrast. This garden aims to create a sense of the interconnectedness between man and nature, and all of nature's diverse ecologies. It also remarks on our relationship with technology, artificial nature, and urbanity – all of which distance man’s experience from tactile and wild nature. Much like the mutable qualities of nature itself, the idea is that, with each visit, this garden would present different arrangements and ways in which to engage with it. In its ability to mutate, this garden and all of its components are ‘alive and awake’.
Design Team
Alison Duncan Design
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