deep into the landscape
how to transform a cement-laden patio into an edible forest garden
June - September 2024
Solo show at Mira Forum, Porto February - March 2024 Solo show and community lunch at Antecâmara Gallery, Lisbon in partnership with The Lisbon Consortium, Portuguese Catholic University August 2022 - 2023 public space intervention, workshops and process documentation at CCOP, Porto Project developed in partnership with Porto Municipal Gallery and Galeria do Sol, supported by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation The intervention’s documentation can be found in Gestures issue of Wrong Wrong online magazine What separated a cement laden-patio from a vibrant forest garden? In order to dig into the question, one must first know that one may become the other. With a sledgehammer and a pickaxe alone, we hand-lifted slabs, picked tar away, sieved six tons of rubble, added a lot of mulch and made solid and liquid composts so that the missing microorganisms were added back into the soil and, finally, we could sow the future. |
Every single meaningful gesture was clearly recorded so that anyone may easily reproduce these steps wherever they can. Eventually, we decided to make benches and support structures with the cement and the stones left over. In doing so, no material had to leave the courtyard.
Since 2022, multiple conversations and activities have taken place at and with the members of the Porto Catholic Working Men’s Club, with a lot of interviews having been gathered. A questionnaire went around so that we could learn from everyone’s opinions and personal taste as to which species should we introduce in every single layer of an agroforestry system. The garden was then implemented, tightly respecting the collaboratively devised final design. Since we were around, we decided to open a microbiology office, offering free soil analisis to whoever brought a plant of seeds for the garden. A lot of new trees and shrubs showed up since. The garden now takes its own course, becoming sturdier and more diverse every season. A lot of the old members now use the garden on a daily basis and keep it dearly. |