Rolling Field, 2020
Edible Carnival (Russell A. Bauer & R. Ayrton Chapman)
Opening Friday, September 4th on view through October 24th

Rolling Field is a mobile kinetic sculpture consisting of a square 12 foot by 12 foot field wrapped around a steel cylindrical frame. The cylinder is lined with a geotextile layer of growing medium planted with wheat. Using a solar electric system, the field slowly rotates and is deployed and planted to sit and spin until the crop reaches maturity at which point it is harvested in a live-streamed performance.

Rolling Field creates an optical spectacle, a triple horizon where the sun sets over the field and then again underneath it. You can also view the sculpture down the center of the cylinder, where the watering system and roots of the plants is visible.

Rolling Field highlights how a substructure can carry the weight of production; the cyclical connection of continuing planting and harvest; and the effect of technology on how we relate to the landscape, including farms and machinery. By collapsing the distance between city-dwellers (human life) and crop growth, Rolling Field interrupts the everyday with the performance of growth.

More images, technical documentation and harvest updates for Rolling Field can be found online at ediblecarnival.org and on Instagram @edible_carnival.