Lau­ren Brincat
The Plant Library

For The Plant Library, a C3West pub­lic com­mis­sion at Rouse Hill, Syd­ney, Lau­ren Brin­cat col­lab­o­rat­ed with com­mu­ni­ty gar­den­ers, plant enthu­si­asts and hor­ti­cul­tur­al experts around the new Talla­wong Metro Sta­tion to create.

The sculp­tur­al green­hous­es were home to dozens of species, from edi­ble flo­ra grown by locals to plants that form part of Darug cul­tur­al prac­tices. The project hon­oured the Cum­ber­land Plain and reflect­ed on the area’s trans­for­ma­tion from the food bowl of Syd­ney to a res­i­den­tial com­mu­ni­ty, filled with a rich grow­ing cul­ture of its own. The Plant Library is an exchange of liv­ing art, encour­ag­ing par­tic­i­pa­tion and sol­i­dar­i­ty among the res­i­dents around Talla­wong, and offer­ing a moment of relief from the urban landscape.

Over 10 days, more than 1000 peo­ple vis­it­ed The Plant Library, many of them shar­ing sto­ries of plant grow­ing and their lives in exchange for a seedling. On the final day, vis­i­tors were invit­ed to take an estab­lished plant from the sculp­ture in exchange for a sto­ry, dis­trib­ut­ing the work through­out the com­mu­ni­ty and ensur­ing its longevi­ty far beyond the acti­va­tion period.