Mary Mattingly is a sculptor and photographer who builds sculptural ecosystems that prioritize access to food, shelter, and clean water, resulting in large-scale participatory projects around the world. These projects rely on absurdity to shift perceptions. She calls these artworks Proposals.

In 2016, she led Swale, a floating sculpture and edible landscape on a barge in New York that depended upon water common law and inspired NYC Parks to establish their first public "Foodway." In a city where foraging is otherwise prohibited, the Foodway provides a place where people can legally gather food from public land.

Mattingly is also known for photographs of imagined futures and for large-scale artworks like Limnal Lacrimosa (of Lakes, Tears) in Montana; Vanishing Point in the UK; and the Waterpod in New York.