​Jesse Thompson, American Lawn (square ornament), 2018

About the work: The American Lawn series is a project that explores different iterations of design using hand hammered blades of grass and "planting" them within natural lawns. American Lawn is a metaphorical process of ‘gilding the lily’, an exercise in unnecessary, excessive labour and embellishment - an introduction of bling into the realm of nature. Sincere and satirical simultaneously, it sits at the intersection of craft, labour and materialism, and speaks to issues of value in a human, global context.​

​About the artist: Originally from the state of New Jersey, Jesse Thompson is now living and working in Singapore where he teaches drawing, illustration, anatomy and animation at The Nanyang Technological University's Art, Media and Design School. After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design's Masters in Sculpture Program in 2007, Jesse established a studio in Providence, Rhode Island for a decade. Since moving to Singapore he has been developing his art practice in new directions which includes the American Lawn series - more of his work can be seen at www.jessethompsonart.com​.​

​​Funders: Partially funded by and in cooperation with Nanyang​ Technological University, Singapore.
Thanks to: the students and workers who contributed to the creawtion of this piece; Kale Slater for his contributions; Nadia Hebson, Ian Walker and Newcastle University for this generous support.​​