Do we ever wonder about the stories beneath our feet? The huge expanse of land that stretches beneath us?  Soil Memory is an audio-tactile experience that explores pivotal historical events that have shaped soil health in London.

 

Presented as a timeline of woven soil tapestries, it invites audiences to engage with and embody the memory of the soil. The project explores tactile emotional learning as a way to build empathy with soil and soil health; the huge expanse that stretches beneath our feet that often goes unnoticed. In order to realize the tactile experience, I wanted to create something that embodies the feel of soil, visually and texturally.

 

The work takes a poetic approach where yarn and cloth pieces weave together to form ‘soil tapestries’ consisting of 6 pieces: Healthy Soil, The Great Fire of London, The Black Death, The Blitz bombing, Tunneling in London. A poetic audio narrative connects the pieces together and tells their story. My research whilst developing Soil Memory has been about finding local stories, being in tune with the land we inhabit & unearthing hidden ecological narratives. A small step towards curbing climate crisis by first building empathy towards the natural world around us. The project methodology can be applied to different contexts thereby educating people about anthropogenic impacts on the environment.

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​The production methodology heavily relied on reuse and repurposing material. I often visited RCA’s reuse station discovering pieces of metal, cork, fabric, and visited the mix-media scrap corner to find yarn and wool roving, fabric and threads of any sort which can be incorporated into the tapestries.The Blitz tapestry uses gelatin bioplastics to show embedded debris.

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​Presented at The Growing Narratives Exhibition & School of Communication festival at the RCA, audiences have enjoyed the tactile aspect of the experience making them reconnect with soil.