 |
|
|
| |
Refuge: A Soil Portrait |
a multi-year project examining soil at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum
For this project– developed in conjunction with the ecoartspace Soil Dialogues– I chose a site at the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, the country’s first urban natural refuge.
Beginning in 2023, I conducted a series of tests - first with textiles buried directly in the ground.
My first cloth test done in February/March showed little to no biological activity. A combination of the soil being too cold and wet – and the ground being less hospitable to a variety of lifeforms. Digging up the subsequent tests, I found a slowly expanding mosaic of color. Fabric buried throughout May showing hints of pinks, purples, blues and oranges. In the wet month of July a densely patterned grid of blue-dotted growth grew across the active knotweed site; resembling the surprising inner flesh of a dragon fruit.My first cloth test done in February/March showed little to no biological activity. A combination of the soil being too cold and wet – and the ground being less hospitable to a variety of lifeforms.
Digging up the subsequent tests, I found a slowly expanding mosaic of color. Fabric buried throughout May showing hints of pinks, purples, blues and oranges.
In the wet month of July a densely patterned grid of blue-dotted growth grew across the active knotweed site; resembling the surprising inner flesh of a dragon fruit
RDNA analysis showed a number of surprising species evidenced in the soil - with an abundance of fungi and aquatic bacteria underscoring the marsh’s proximity to the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. The animation in the short video introduces some of the most prevalent species in each kingdom, barely scratching the surface of the thousands of more-than-human inhabitants that have affected the soil.
The variegated color from the buried cloth samples and the abstracted data are also compiled into a series of translucent scarves to be worn throughout the conference. I am interested in ideas of layering data, promoting transparency, and instigating conversations around soil.
The project includes a portrait of Yessenia Mendez, Community Engagement Specialist and former Biological Technician Intern at Heinz Refuge wearing the scarves on-site – connecting one of the stewards of the land to its data, making tangible the interconnected web of this complex urban refuge.
|