Designed for the "locavore," Local River, created by Mathieu Lehanneur and Anthony van den Bossche is a home storage unit for fish and greens. This DIY fish-farm-cum-kitchen-garden is based on the exchange and interdependence of two living organisms - plants and fish.

Here's the dirty stuff:

The plants extract nutrients from the nitrate-rich dejecta of the fish. In doing so they act as a natural filter that purifies the water and maintains a vital balance for the eco-system in which the fish live. The same technique is used on large-scale pioneer aquaponics/fish-farms, which raise tilapia (a food fish from the Far East) and lettuce planted in trays floating on the surface of ponds.

Simply put, now you can have your fish, lettuce, and eat 'em too! The ultimate goal of Local River is not just decorative, but functional too -- serving as an aquarium/refrigerator it allows fish and greens to cohabit until .....um.....dinner time rolls around.

On view at Artists Space from 25 April to 21 June 2008.

Check out more pix after the jump.