A Forgotten Place

A Forgotten Place is a public artwork that draws attention to feral ecologies and the untapped potential of AC condensation as an irrigation source in a water-scarce region. Installed in a throughway between two warehouses of Alserkal Avenue, a densely developed arts district where almost every square inch is utilized, the work seeks the hidden and the in-between: the sandy soil beneath the interlocking brick. A network of transparent irrigation tubes is suspended overhead, collecting water from AC units inside the surrounding warehouses and channelling it down to seeds already present in the soil. Visitors can walk through the installation, and over time the otherwise wasted water is intended to germinate feral plants and give them a recognized place within the community. The work is functional as well as conceptual, reframing the interplay between feral ecologies and human development, and how nature and modern society adapt to one another.

The work is accompanied by a program exploring the connection between storytelling and the natural world. On his first site visit, Shono was told of a beloved tree growing where the original Alserkal complex meets its newer buildings, an unplanned sprouting fed by AC runoff from an entire block of warehouses. In just a few years it grew into a towering giant, shading an otherwise forgotten corner of the Avenue. Even as its roots began to undermine the warehouse foundations and grow into the pipes below, the community rallied to protect it. The program will draw on stories like this, working with scientists, environmentalists, and engineers to promote sustainable practices and nurture native species amid rapid urban expansion.

A Forgotten Place is an invitation to reclaim agency over the narratives shaping nature's role in our world.