011

Arte Útil archive nr:

011

Initiator:

Mel Chin

Location:

US, Germany

Category:

scientific, economy, environment

Users:

Scientists, Landfill managers

Maintained by:

Mel Chin

Certification:

implemented

Duration:

1991 - ongoing

Mel Chin
-
Revival Field

Description:

Sculptor Mel Chin collaborated with scientist Dr. Rufus Chaney and government agencies to design gardens of hyper accumulators – plants that can draw heavy metals from contaminated soil. The metal extracted from the plants is sold for re-use, sustaining project costs.

Goals:

We live in a world of pollution with heavy metals saturating the soil. This pollution could be carved away, and life could return to that soil and then a diverse and ecologically balanced life.

Beneficial Outcomes:

Cleaner soil. Significant media attention to Dr. Chaney’s research; 23 years and several test sites later, phytoremediation is becoming commercially viable.

Images: