– 2006
One iteration of this project called “moss bombs” was included in the Experimenta Design 2008 Show in Amsterdam.
http://www.experimentadesign.nl/2008/en/0204.html
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AK47โs and grenades are powerful images and symbols; symbols of revolt, but also symbols of violence and death. They represent the worst things that we are capable of creating: objects to destroy another human being, inflict pain and suffering, and ultimately end life. This iconic intensity can be harnessed to represent a similar warfare and intensity against the urban landscape in a clash with wilderness.
What I intend to build is a series of weapons that will both empower conceptually challenge people to take back small pockets of the cityscape. Using an iconic weapon such as an AK47, the user will send bursts of ivy seeds against run-down urban areas that will then grow over buildings, thereby mimicking the ability of nature to dominate. 
From 1945 until 1995 there were an estimated 90 โ 120 million AK47โs manufactured. This far surpasses the production of any other weapon. For much of the middle east, their common place has become akin to that of a household appliance, to others they are a symbol of resistance, and to others they symbolize terrorism.
The first weapon that I intend to create will be a pink, (non-militaristic) AK47 paint-ball gun modified to shoot pellets in which the casing contains an invasive English Ivy seed, some liquid adhesive, and a small absorbent sponge. Within the several weeks following an attack, the urban space will become overgrown with an invasive species of English Ivy – a plant that has proven itself as a strong urban plant for the New York City environment. (a prototype can be seen here)
What is equally important is how the weapons are used. I intend to deploy tactics similar to the highly influential book by Mao Tse- Tung, “On Guerrila Warfare”, by attacking small urban areas to created liberated zones.
Images of Growth and Revolt:
Click here for .mov
[qt:/videos/ak47_hi-res.mov 480 360]
Initially, there was a sense of anger and hostility that I felt the city was imposing upon me. This caused a desire to turn the hostility back upon the city. However, rather than recreating the destruction I saw the city causing, I chose to use images of revolt and destruction that would serve to help recreate the fading wilderness; though the project appeared hostile due to the use of an AK47, the image of revolt implied in the weapon served only to illuminate my feeling that the city is a hostile environment. The ultimate goal of the project was to bring about something natural and peaceful: plants upon city walls.
In it’s final form, this project will fire pellets containing seeds to plant moss and ivy on walls rather then paint.
Early prototype:
AK47 Seed Weapons
