Alyssa Wood

This American Lawn
multimedia, scratch and sniff panels, grass, sound, acrylic
18 x 8 x 8 in.

This American Lawn is a piece about the American obsession with the lawn—our need for that perfectly green patch of property to call our very own. The lawn is a symbol of democracy and equality in America. It demonstrates that with hard work, you can have everything that anyone with money has. TAL is truly democratic though. You don’t need land, money, or tools, in order to smell the plaques and listen to the mower, in essence, to have a lawn experience. TAL subverts the idea that with hard work and determination, a life of leisure is possible or even desirable, considering the reality that this sanitized American dream is often at the expense of the environment and our quality of life.

© Alyssa Wood