Soil is the Skin of the Planet

Estesio Malmö Sweden.
Cyantoype, coffee, photogravure, found materials, soil, plants, people and terrariums.

Skåne, and Malmö form an ancient agricultural landscape: its open views shaped by man near the sea. The soil is rich.

One of the origins of the art is said to be, according to anthropologists, to do something precious by giving it beauty. Slowing down to focus the attention on how plastics invisibly destroy soil, we built terrariums and paid respect to the intricate beauty and complexity of soil.

We relate to nature, beyond money. Soil is complex and needs to be kept in balance. When we injure the soil, we injure ourselves. A healthy farm land is the wealth of future generations. Food packaging breaks down in nanoplastics, mixes with the soil, and in time, ends up in our food chain. I highlighted this connection during an ‘intervention’ with the audience. For 3 days, the audience was invited to bring their disposable food packaging, which I washed, and catalogued. The participants had to stich the torn food packaging back together, while Dr Anna Febrero, professor in plant stress, worked with the group to understand what is soil.