Chemical Construction Kit

Drawing of molecular structure of benzene
Molecular structure of benzene

With the help of passersby, I built molecular models of some of the chemical substances found in the soil of the Greenwich Peninsula. The ‘ball and stick’ models were made of balls of soil dug from the peninsula, connected by willow withies. The soil was mixed with the seeds of plants which have the ability to clean polluted soil (a process called phytoremediation). The models drew attention to the chemical legacy of the peninsula’s intense industrial activity, and at the same time pointed to a solution.

Willow model of molecular structure
Historic Greenwich
Willow and mud structure leaning against a fence
Seedball for phytoremediation
Willow model of molecule
Sulphuric acid molecular structure

willow sculpture of chemical structure of sulphuric acid