The work intervenes in the daily operations of the art space, blurring the boundaries between public and private by highlighting how the institution manages its waste.
Organic leftovers from employees and visitors are collected to feed the sculpture, where living worms and soil microorganisms break down the waste over the course of the exhibition, inside a concrete structure. Acting as a communal compost system, the sculpture transforms discarded matter into energy, turning remnants of cultural leisure and labor into fertile substance.
The piece was originally conceived for the exhibition "Shelter or Playground" at the MAK Center for Art and Architecture in Los Angeles. Drawing from the computer generated poem "The House of Dust" by the Fluxus artist Alison Knowles, the exhibition used the Schindler House – where the art space is located – as starting point to reflect on the notion of hospitality.
The artist noticed a clear split within the Schindler House, which serves both as the former residence of architect Rudolph Schindler, still maintained by his family, and as the MAK Center, an art space headquartered within this modernist architectural landmark. To explore this divide, the artist chose to engage with the only people connecting these two spaces: an elderly Mexican couple, the caretakers entrusted by the Schindler family to live in the house.
