Speaking Soil (2025)
Silkscreen, Audio
In collaboration with Tash Kimmell
As part of Closed Cycles NWO
Speaking Soil explores conversations around soil and fertiliser in the Netherlands by starting with the following question: ‘What drives farmers’ decisions regarding the use of organic fertiliser?’ Through interviews with an organic farmer, a researcher, a Green Party representative, and finally, the soil itself, the researchers investigated different perspectives on the challenges farmers face today. For example, how does policy aid or hinder farmers looking to transition to more eco-friendly farming practices? What cultural narratives surround farming in the Netherlands? And what can research contribute to this conversation?
Selected quotes from the interviews served as the inspiration for a poster series, conveying the layered and chaotic nature of this highly political topic. Next to each other, they also convey one central message: the current treatment of both farmers and the soil must change. Along with the visual elements of this project, viewers are invited to listen to snippets of the audio from the interviews, bringing a (more than) human element back into the conversation.
Speaking Soil was part of the collaboration between the Royal Academy of the Arts, The Hague, and the NWO (Dutch Research Council) as part of the Closed Cycles programme. As such, students were paired with a scientific research team and asked to engage with their research projects and translate them to a broader audience using tools from art and design. The finished pieces were exhibited as part of the NWO Life Conference 2025 and in Paradise (West Den Haag) in The Hague.
Exhibited at:
NWO Life 2025 (Egomond aan Zee)
Paradise (West) (Den Haag, Netherlands)
Photos:
Roel Backaert and Marina Maschek
Exhibition furniture:
Shapeshifters and Spacebenders