I’ve been thinking about heterogenous assemblages, and the way that nonhuman things relate to one another. So the idea here is that the derelict washing machines would rust slowly into the ground, providing iron and other nutrients for the soil, and habitat for the rabbits. The rabbits eat and breed quickly, but bamboo is able to recover quickly from being gnawed. Bamboo is also known to be a bioabsorber, so the more toxic materials such as lead and pvc contained by the washing machines can be trapped and prevented from polluting the soil. Rabbits aerate the ground with their burrows, and bamboo stabilises the soil. Although the plantation has little direct benefit for humans, and may even be unsightly (bamboo, rabbits, and derelict washing machines are all counted as pests in some locations), they are anticipated to form a coherent network.

The drawing contains one rabbit for each washing machine, in case anyone wanted to keep count.

Plantation 1: Bamboo, rabbits, derelict washing machines, Carl Douglas, 2010. Pencil on paper, 594x841.