Assemblage 2024
163-173 McEvoy Street
Sydney’s urban environment is home to a unique ecological phenomenon—lithophytic plant communities that have adapted to the built landscape. These plants, typically found in sandstone crevices, now use the mortar of city buildings as a foothold, continuing an ancient ecological cycle. Birds and bats disperse seeds in pre-fertilized packages, while ferns travel on the breeze, allowing these resilient species to take root in unexpected places.
Assemblage 2024, installed at 163-173 McEvoy Street, reconstructs and amplifies this natural process. A series of brick fragments emerge from the building’s façade, simultaneously appearing as part of and distinct from the architecture. Natural lighting accentuates the geometric reliefs, while in certain areas, the structured forms dissolve into pockets of native lithophytes. Over time, moss and other spontaneous growth will further integrate the work into its surroundings, blurring the boundary between the built and organic.
Grounded in a study of Sydney’s lithophytic communities, Assemblage 2024 explores the relationship between architecture and ecology. Rather than relying on conventional sculptural forms or introduced species, it creates niches that invite plant life to take hold, emulating the weathered recesses of urban surfaces. While many of these plant communities have been lost to redevelopment, Assemblage 2024 seeks to preserve and reimagine these overlooked ecologies, fostering biodiversity and embedding nature within the fabric of the city.
