The Infinity Garden

When entering into this Art and Ecology summer course, I was infatuated with this concept that seems to be present in so many aspects of life. The infinity symbol is used in math to represent a pattern of a never ending sequence of numbers. It is also the shape that is made if the sun is measured every single day for a year in a particular place. It seems so interesting because of the initial habit for use to think that things are cyclical. I became enamored by the idea that things do not function in a line or a circle, but rather in the same pattern as infinity.

How I decided to relate this to ecology was to create this symbol on a vacant lot in the University neighborhood. Using the site where one of the oldest houses in Albuquerque once stood, some dedicated friends of mine and I constructed a rock sculpture in the shape of infinity. Being about 40 feet long and 15 feet wide, this is relatively hard to miss on a pleasant stroll down the street. I also chose to build here because of a guerilla movement that was already in action. People had created a "seed shrine" near a tree on the corner of the lot. More and more people began to contribute to this shrine and I thought, what a great idea if we could plant those seeds and create a community space.

So far we have had three work days and I have recruited about seventeen people to help when they have the time. Although the ground is arid and nearly concrete, we are determined to rebuild the soil and plant sun-resistent crops like corn and sunflowers. The dream is alive and we can't wait to keep working. I've created a facebook page where I will post updates on the progress and hopefully attract more followers. It was a great experiene for me to put this concept of infinity into something tangible, yet still holding on to the mystical idea that things continue forever in a peculiar, yet undeniable, cycle.

Check out this video about the Infinity Garden on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/69775023
Also, if you're interested, follow the facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Infinity-Garden/145422755652609