With this house, I have a different appreciation of my ability to change my surroundings. I feel parallels between the shaping of the house and my body. With this house, we are able to have a small 25' x 18' garden, improving our diet by excluding pesticides from the herbs and vegetables we grow. We harvest between 60 and 100 lbs of tomatoes annually with over 13 different varieties increasing diversity in our diet. I also work more hours a day on home improvements, having more physical activity and reducing time in front of the computer.
A sculptural installation called the Honeycomb Project utilizes ceiling tiles from the house. The installation Stasis also utilizes materials from the home that then return after the exhibition. This project was inspired by the Sculpture as Medicine course I designed and taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
This process will culminate in an exhibition in the house at the end of the renovation. (Cats are often used in images for scale purposes only. Being cute is an unintentional side effect.)
Gabriel Bizen Akagawa
