Portable Garden, Lois Weinberger, 1994-

Work on deposit from CNAP (Centre National des Arts Plastiques), with the complicity of Galerie Salle Principale, Paris.

Protocol work
Portable Gardens is a re-activatable installation by Lois Weinberger.

It is made up of a set of 'immigrant' carrier bags and earth. Referring directly to migratory flows, the bags evoke the condition of people forced to leave their native land. The figure of the uprooted takes on its full meaning here, as does the notion of integration, which will be the work's conclusion at the end of its installation.

The installation comprises a minimum of 30 bags. The bags are placed side by side in an area that may or may not be planted with vegetation. The installation must be active over a long period of time, at least one year, in order to observe the evolution of time. During this time, the soil will become a receptacle for ruderal plants, or "weeds", sown naturally by the wind and birds.

The soil is preferably unamended. It comes from urban wasteland or fields close to the facility. It should be laid out in an open, natural state. The process is natural. There is no need to water them or intervene in any way. The area around the bags should be cleaned so that they are not hidden by invasive vegetation. Over time, ruderal plants will develop and gradually invade the entire surface of the bags. The bags will disappear over time due to the action of the weather and possible destruction by various birds that use the synthetic fibres in the bags to make their nests. The bags will therefore disappear. The installation will eventually return to the soil on which it rests, if this is the case.

The piece evolves as it is activated. The final aim of the installation is to disappear, with the container being returned to the reception area to form a garden enriched by the ruderal species that will have developed in the heart of the bags. The minimum duration is one year. It can also be activated continuously. In the latter case, it can be reactivated after each disappearance.

Previous activations: Liverpool Biennial (2004) Centre d'art contemporain de Brétigny (2005) Toyota Museum in Tokyo (2006) Angle des rues des Ardennes et de Thionville on a plot of land near the Salle Principale gallery in Paris (2015)