Nicholas Morof, Highland PArk, IL

Artist Statement

"Sleeping with Flowers" is a Sukkah designed to temporarily house both humans and plants during the agricultural holiday of Sukkot. The main feature of this proposal is an elevated wooden bench that contains two voids, filled with flowers and crops from local urban farms and gardens in Detroit. The flowers are spaced strategically, enabling the bench and the rest of the Sukkah to host unspecified variations of program and activities. The Sukkah’s “walls” are made of twine woven through p-cord that is stretched from top to bottom. The twine and p-cord make up a pattern that is inspired by the planting formations of the urban farms in Detroit: short, contained segments of crops. The patterns of the “walls” interact with the sun throughout the day to create playful shadows. Finally, the reflection pond is set just in front of the raised platform to bring light into the Sukkah, reflect the urban farm’s shadows of the “walls,” and to add a bit of calmness to the bustling Capitol Park plaza.