Mel Chin, American, born 1951
Revival Field plant and field Study (aka Carulescens Cross), 2015
In his ongoing project of Revival Field, Mel Chin made a holistic approach to create an environmental solution to transform industrial waste into sustainable artwork, by utilizing specific plants to extract heavy metals from contaminated soil. Before the project started in 1991, the soil at a Superfund site in Saint Paul, Minnesota was loaded with cadmium and other toxins. With two years of what he calls “a green remedy,” Chin was able to absorb most of the heavy metals into the plant’s stems and leaves, with an economically feasible and environmentally sustainable methods. Label by Yifei He