The Combustibility of Hay and Farmer's Lung

in
  • The Combustibility of Hay and Farmer's Lung, installation by Leah Reynolds
  • The Combustibility of Hay and Farmer's Lung, installation by Leah Reynolds
  • The Combustibility of Hay and Farmer's Lung, installation by Leah Reynolds

2010

fabric, acrylic acrylic, deer netting

18 ft. x 24 ft.

Installation at the former site of the Brolo Farm, Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

The imagery derives from the fungus aspergillus fumigatus which grows in baled hay and may cause spontaneous combustion.  (The farm chiefly produced hay.)  Fungii are crucial to the functioning of eco-systems because they break down organic matter so it can be recycled.  This particular fungus may also cause a respiratory disease know as farmer's lung when it's spores are inhaled.