Landmass / Opened Lands, 2002
Land Mass, in collaboration with Wendy Jacob, includes 16 mobile benches based on the shapes and dimensions of city-owned vacant land in Chicago at 1:25 scale. The number of benches corresponded to the number of vacant lots that existed (on average) in an area of Chicago equal to the gallery area. (One out of every 33 square feet in Chicago in 2002 was vacant land.)
Opened Lands documents local, non-institutionalized uses of vacant lots that create public spaces in the city of Chicago. If you unfold the map accompanying each photograph, you will find stories, additional pictures, and seasonal details.
Both projects were commissioned by the Smart Museum at the University of Chicago for a group show called "Critical Mass" curated by Stephanie Smith in 2002 and they are now in the Smart Museum's permanent collection.