Situated in a block on the cusp of transformation, Tending a line in the year of the rabbit responds to the boundary condition produced by two rows of concrete sleepers. No longer serving their original purpose, the linear arrangement now hosts life — the space between these rows has been transformed to support a species-rich plant community. To establish the plants amidst an already vibrant ‘vacant lot’, caretakers engage in new patterns of boundary-making, reciprocity, and care.
This ‘vacant lot’ sits at the intersection of competing forces in the modern city-suburbs. Located in close proximity to the Old Pumping Station (located within Scienceworks Museum) and the rapidly gentrifying neighbourhoods of Melbourne’s inner-west, this ‘vacant lot’ and Linda Tegg’s artistic intervention raise questions about land usage, and prompts broader thinking about conservation and regeneration in urban areas.
Over the spring, a new generation of seeds will be collected to catalyse as-yet unimagined opportunities for plants in this place. Commissioned for Treatment III, Tending a line in the year of conclude when construction at the site begins.
