Marianne Drews

Department: Social Design
Website: www.marianned.com

Soils in Residency

What: A transdisciplinary platform facilitating the exchange of knowledge about soil and the sharing of it as a resource.

Why: Global soil loss is not only an ecological problem but also a cultural, social and political issue. The project explores transplantation as a way to revive and alter soils, without artificial influence, while challenging societal frameworks such as the ownership of resources.

How: By fusing art and science, and using techniques such as an imaging method and transplant tests. Soils of different origins and agricultural treatments are inoculated in a test plot designed as a biogeographical map. Mirrored and monitored through soil chroma images, the results form an analogue and virtual archive of knowledge, displaying multiple potentials.

“The project challenges conventional ways of engaging and interacting with soil”