Soil is a source and a destination for many forms of life, and bears witness to the history of the Earth. However, humanity sees a long history of soil exploitation, and contemporary society tends to underestimate the critical role soil plays in fostering the conditions necessary for the existence of life on Earth.
This tripartite artwork, comprising a physical sculpture, titled Earthbreakers, located in Brussels' Cinquantenaire Park, and two digital twins, responds to this situation. Compos[t]ing presents a thematically broad and chronologically deep view of the soil, whilst Digital Compos[t]ing explores soil formation and transformation processes beyond immediate human perception as they occur over extremely lengthy periods.
The distinct pieces offer varied perspectives: the physical sculpture grounds itself in tangible earth, inviting tactile engagement, while the digital counterparts transcend human perception, expressing temporal horizons typically imperceptible to the human mind. The knowledge map visualises an interactive text network of undervalued voices and vocabularies on soils from poetic, scientific, and political contexts, expressing the richness within these varied definitions. Together, they form a compelling dialogue, inviting contemplation on the multifaceted nature of soil.
Medium Physical Sculpture: Wood, Earth, Grass, Plants, approx. 360 x 200 x 360 (each)
Medium physical models: Wood, Earth, Grass, Fibers, Roots, approx: 60 x 60 x 60 cm (each)
Medium digital sculpture: Custom software (color, generative algorithm with artificial intelligence): visit the Knowledge Map at this link.
Ingrid M. Ogenstedt, Ingrid Mayrhofer-Hufnagl & Jonah Lynch
In collaboration with: Calogero Schillaci, Arwyn Jones and Jaime Gomez Ramirez
The physical sculpture Earthbreakers can be found at the Parc du Cinquantennaire as part of the exhibition. Constructed with the support of: Agnes Brandstaetter, Charlotte Burgaud, Manoah Camporini, Amandine Faugère, Roya Keshavarz, Sioban Lopez Dailland, Stefan Piat, Bjørg Dyg Nielsen.
This artwork has been made possible thanks to the generous support of Urban, Brussels Environment, Brucity, BC Materials, C-Mile and Paul Dujardin (strategic and artistic advisor JRC SciArt project).
Residency Project: https://science-art-society.ec.europa.eu/composting
Presentation of Residency @ JRC: https://science-art-society.ec.europa.eu/sites/default/files/video-thumbnails/2023-06/composting%20-%20HD%20720p.mp4
With special thanks, for helping construct the artwork, to:
Sioban Lopez Dailland
Amandine Faugère
Agnes Brandstaetter
Roya Keshavarz
Manoah Camporini
Bjørg Dyg Nielsen
