Potential

This piece was inspired by the Baylands Natural Preserve, a wasteland restored marshland.* In the process of optimizing comfort and convenience in our daily lives, humans have continually disrupted the precarious cycles of life on earth. One could argue that we’ve abused our planet, depriving it of natural resources and taking more than we need just to line our pockets.  But with the power to destroy comes the power to restore, which in short is the idea I’ve attempted to transcribe into my piece.  A lone empty coke can has become a common litter sighting; another addition to our menagerie of garbage.  But by interacting with the can and taking a peek inside, it's possible see the potential of using human interference to fix human interference, as the preservers of the Baylands have done and are doing. How it functions: A capacitative sensor was installed in the can. Upon human contact, the LED embedded inside the can illuminates the miniature paper garden implanted within, demonstrating the power of both human impact and apathy towards our environment.