Among the Flowers I Learned to Love: A Garden of Decreation

Powerhouse Arts collaborated with artist and poet Precious Okoyomon and OSO Industries to design and fabricate The Pleasure Principle as part of Among the Flowers I Learned to Love: A Garden of Decreation, a large-scale sculptural installation created for the inaugural Courtyard Commission at MoMA PS1.

Transforming the museum’s courtyard into an evolving landscape of plants, sound, and interactive sculpture, Okoyomon’s installation centers around an oversized teddy bear that visitors can enter, climb through, and explore. The sculpture is integrated into a living garden of grasses, flowers, weeds, sedges, pollinators, and vines, bringing together cultivated and wild growth alongside native and invasive species.

Working closely with Okoyomon and the project team, Powerhouse Arts supported the development of the sculpture from design through fabrication. The team constructed the piece using a combination of steel framing, foam, fiberglass, and concrete, with OSO Industries serving as concrete consultants and advisors throughout the process.

Among the Flowers I Learned to Love: A Garden of Decreation considers the garden as a space for rest, transformation, and renewal, creating an immersive environment where visitors can engage with sculpture, sound, and the natural world.

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Project Team Members (Powerhouse Arts Staff):
‍Alec Reed, Brian Ferreira, Brenna Board, Brittni Collins, Chris Albert Lee, Cuba, Daniel Quinn, Devon Petrovits, Griffin Garment, Jaden Mose, Jeremy Klemundt, Jorg Jakoby, Julie Malen, Katie Logan, Katayoun Amir-Aslani, Kelsey Breen, Lou Pfeiffer, Pablo Solano, Rachel Moses, Rich Watts, Sheyda Azar, Tommy Coleman, Vivian Pullan.

Materials:
‍Pigmented concrete, fiberglass, steel, aluminum composite material, UV print, fiber optic lighting, foam, and epoxy resin.

‍Commissioner/Funder/Presenter:
‍MoMA PS1