Parking the Common is a conceptual art project created in collaboration with Peggy Cameron, a biologist and urban activist. Peggy is co-chair of Friends of the Common, a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the Halifax Common, a green space in peninsular Halifax that was established in 1763 with a grant of 235 acres from King George III.
Parking the Common purports to be a biological study of an invasive species, named Phylum Paveia (paving lot), which is slowly taking over endangered native species, also given fictitious nomenclature such as Lawnis tranquilis, Gardenia publica, and Serenis communis. My photographs document the varieties of this little-studied invasive species, which is now affecting areas previously reserved for recreational green space.
While tongue-in-cheek, the project is deadly serious about the dangers of allowing automobiles to attain dominance in urban settings. The privatization of public space to accommodate private cars represents a serious loss of the societal benefits of public open space. The photographs were exhibited in October 2014 as a slide-show presentation at Halifax’s School of Architecture as part of the 2014 Photopolis Festival.
Parking the Common purports to be a biological study of an invasive species, named Phylum Paveia (paving lot), which is slowly taking over endangered native species, also given fictitious nomenclature such as Lawnis tranquilis, Gardenia publica, and Serenis communis. My photographs document the varieties of this little-studied invasive species, which is now affecting areas previously reserved for recreational green space.
While tongue-in-cheek, the project is deadly serious about the dangers of allowing automobiles to attain dominance in urban settings. The privatization of public space to accommodate private cars represents a serious loss of the societal benefits of public open space. The photographs were exhibited in October 2014 as a slide-show presentation at Halifax’s School of Architecture as part of the 2014 Photopolis Festival.