The exhibition 'Soil and Friends' explores soil as a dynamic community of organisms and relationships, fundamental to life on Earth. Presented in collaboration with PLATO Ostrava, it examines soil as a biological system, cultural space, historical archive, and political issue.
The exhibition 'Soil and Friends' invites a closer look at the ground beneath our feet, treating soil as a vital and complex ally. This second edition, hosted by PLATO Ostrava and involving the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, continues the exploration of art as a space for shared experience of nature. The project is a significant part of PLATO's 10th-anniversary celebrations.
Curated by Marianna Dobkowska and Edith Jeřábková, the exhibition views soil as a living, dynamic community of organisms, relationships, and processes – the fundamental condition for life on Earth. It delves into soil's role as a biological system, a cultural space, a historical archive, and a political subject, bridging scientific knowledge, artistic imagination, and practical landscape stewardship. The exhibition encourages mindfulness, allowing visitors to perceive subtle sounds, rhythms, cycles, and relationships often missed in daily perception. The curators emphasize seeing soil as a partner rather than merely a utilitarian resource.
Featuring works by thirty artists across various media including film, installation, drawing, sound research, and living materials, the exhibition showcases diverse approaches. Some artists employ scientific methods, such as constructing microphones to record subterranean sounds, while others draw from personal experiences with pastoralism or plant cultivation. A key theme is regenerative agriculture and the restoration of soil's carbon-sequestering capacity, highlighting the intricate dependencies between pastures, herbivores, soil microorganisms, pastoral cultures, and the planet's water cycle and temperature regulation.
