The Mid-Century Modern Memorial Playground Sculpture Park (MCMMPSP) project recovers, repurposes, reinvents, and installs vanishing playground sculptures created in the 1960s. The project began as an ongoing photo series capturing the disappearing playscapes that were once ubiquitous throughout Metropolitan Detroit and the Midwest—primarily focusing on the cast-concrete sculptures of Jim Miller-Melberg and his company, Form Incorporated, which were commonplace throughout American parks, schools, rest-stops, and apartment complexes for decades. Many of these works and others classified as part of the Mid-Century Modern movement have been removed and destroyed, making metal play-sculptures a rarity. Along with documenting existing sites, Hocking is acquiring as many remaining Miller-Melberg’s concrete works as possible, and continues to search for other Mid-Century Modern playscapes. His project will culminate with a permanent sculpture park memorializing these works and artists for future generations.

Scott Hocking was born in Redford Township, Michigan in 1975. He has lived and worked in Detroit proper since 1996. He creates site-specific installations, sculptures, and photography projects, often using found materials and neglected locations. Inspired by subjects ranging from ancient mythologies to current events, his artworks focus on transformation, ephemerality, chance, and the cycles of nature.