Garden of Commons (2011)
Sculpture in public space with silk screened texts and weed gardens.
Shown at (Re)designing Nature, Bremen, 2011

The sculpture has four gardens sampled from commons in Bremen and its surroundings. Together they form a new kind of communal space. The work deals with what is known as "The tragedy of the commons" described in a text by Garrett Hardin published in 1968. The dilemma is that when a resource like; land, air or water is communal and unregulated then individuals are enticed to use it to personal gain but to the disadvantage of the community at large. An example could be adding pollution to the atmosphere by adding one more car, overgrazing a communal farmland or overfishing the seas. The sculpture relate to the question: How can resources be communal without being overused?

Artists in the show: Balmori Associates, Vincent Callebaut, James Corner Field Operations / Diller Scofidio + Renfro, Regula Dettwiler, Mark DION / Gross MAX, Hager Landschaftsarchitektur, Paula Hayes, Christine & Irene Hohenbüchler, Natalie Jeremijenko, Khondaker Hasibul Kabir, Latz + Partner, Reiner Maria Matysik, Isa Melsheimer, Metagardens, Christian Philipp Müller / Jochen Koppensteiner, Observatorium, R&SIE(n), Nis Rømer, Tomás Saraceno, Schweingruber Zulauf, Ken Smith, Ingo Vetter / Annette Weisser, Lois Weinberger und Mrio arquitectos / West 8.

Drawing of the garden.


Detail with weed garden.


Detail of silkscreen about Elinor Ostrom.