Martian Gardener Project

2024—
Collaboration with Dan Mikesell

Long after contact with Mars was lost, later missions uncovered faint traces of cultivation amidthe red dust—frag ments of a botanical legacy that had lingered unseen. Recovered from inner sanctums and abandoned greenhouses, the artifacts reveal delicate biomes sustained against a barren landscape—not merely for survival, but as rituals of emotional and spiritual connection, reaching back to Earth’s life forms across profound isolation.

Threaded through these works are echoes of restless inquiry and invention: plant-inspired mechanisms designed to scatter sensors across the Martian surface; blueprints and drawings envisioning bioengineered species, hydroponic structures, and emergent forms of resilience. Many bear the marks of failure: prototypes that never worked, designs abandoned mid-course, records of stalled growth and structural collapse. Records of plant trials mingle with glimpses of unanticipated life, while plant elegies offer meditations on loss, memory, and transformation. Each piece bears witness to the intricate dance of experimentation and adaptation—a testament to how life’s possibilities are continually reshaped, with wonder and surprise.

The Martian Gardener Project invites reflection on creative persistence as an act of resistance and hope, shaping new expressions of life, beauty, and meaning on Martian soil.