WetLand
Floating Sculpture, Public Art | 2014
Independence Seaport Museum Dock, Philadelphia, PA
Commissioned for FringeArts, with support from the Knight Foundation
WetLand is a floating sculpture and public living system created in response to the accelerating ecological and social consequences of climate change. Constructed on a barge and built to resemble a partially submerged house, WetLand was anchored on the Delaware River at the Independence Seaport Museum Dock and functioned simultaneously as public art, mobile architecture, and experimental ecology.
Inspired by transitional wetland ecosystems, the project offered a vision of urban adaptation, fusing architecture, art, performance, and permaculture. It included integrated systems for rainwater collection, purification, greywater reuse, indoor and outdoor hydroponic gardens, solar energy, composting toilets, and spaces for live-in residency and public programming.
Over the course of its installation, WetLand hosted artists and residents who co-developed and activated the space through concerts, workshops, skillshares, performances, and participatory storytelling. A “floating ecotopia,” WetLand reimagined urban life as reciprocal, interdependent, and provisional—calling attention to rising sea levels and the shrinking of actual wetlands worldwide.
Project Details
- Year: 2014
- Location: Independence Seaport Museum Dock, Philadelphia, PA
- Commissioned by: FringeArts, with support from the Knight Foundation
- Materials: Reclaimed wood, IBC totes, solar panels, water filtration systems, hydroponics, soil, live plants, chicken coop, beehive, compost systems
- Dimensions: Approx. 45 ft x 25 ft
- Collaborators: Artists-in-residence and contributors from local Philadelphia communities. Esteban Gaspar Silva, Rita Sharper, Brian House, Karla Stinger-Stein, Greg Lindquist, Kim Darling, Malik Kalhid, Biome Arts and more
“WetLand was about imagining an ecotopia that lives within the cracks of existing infrastructure. It resembled a house already succumbing to rising waters; part warning, part possibility. I lived onboard throughout its run, alongside others, growing food, collecting water, and creating a space that blurred the line between necessity and art. What does it take to build a future that listens to water? What does it mean to live inside a public sculpture built for both resilience and collective action?” — Mattingly
Description
WetLand reflects Mary Mattingly’s long-term engagement with climate futures and self-sufficient systems, extending themes from Waterpod and anticipating Swale. Here, the floating ecosystem became both material and metaphor—held between collapse and care. Drawing on Rachel Carson’s ecological ethics and Buckminster Fuller’s visionary design, the work served as both a practical experiment and poetic provocation, offering a blueprint for adaptive living and mutual aid on the water. Situated on Philadelphia’s waterfront, WetLand foregrounded urban ecological vulnerability while proposing alternative models of public space rooted in resource-sharing, food production, and eco-technical literacy. As an immersive public artwork, WetLand positioned ecological sculpture as infrastructure, merged speculative architecture with civic pedagogy, and catalyzed local dialogue on climate resilience earning recognition from the Knight Foundation.
Select Press + Documentation
- Knight Foundation: "Mattingly’s high-visibility message is a manifold and relevant one... WetLand is a fusion of many disciplines into one sound vision with the future solidly in its sights."
- Public programming included workshops, concerts, foraging tours, and solar-cooked meals: Download PDF on Wetland's Potable Water Systems
