In the 1960s and 1970s, Hutchinson produced land artworks in far-reaching global locales. Land art, also called earth art, environmental art, or earthworks, is an art movement that integrates physical or conceptual elements of the landscape into the artwork.

For this project, Hutchinson climbed the Paricutin volcano in Mexico. Upon reaching the summit, he spread 450 pounds of bread along its rim, hoping to grow a forest of mold—which he did—that would “juxtapose a microorganism and a macrocosmic landscape.” In addition to highlighting disparity in scale, this work also illumminated the proximity of very old landscapes—the mountain—and very new ones—the bubbling lava.

The work seen here should be understood as a document of the Paricutin project. Like his fellow land artists—particularly his British compatriots—Hutchinson’s work is comprised of real-time, real-life outdoor events that are then brought into the gallery in the form of documentation with photography and text.