Jan Brykczyński "THE GARDENER" (LTA)
The project "The Gardener" (2013–2014) focuses on the phenomenon of urban agriculture in Yerevan, Armenia, which has a long-standing history.
In better times, it is treated more as a hobby, but it grows and intensifies during times of crisis. It mainly takes place in guerrilla garden plots on unused land in the poor outskirts of Yerevan. The residents use their imagination, creativity, and resourcefulness, as well as all kinds of reclaimed materials, to build structures for cultivation. I am particularly interested in the ways space is arranged and, consequently, in the structures that were spontaneously created for growing food. In some places, they were a result of collective cooperation among residents; in others, they reflected the individual ingenuity of their creators. The project can also be seen as a somewhat futuristic vision of urban life and as part of a global resistance movement.
