A site to behold—an exhibition on soil
An exhibition on this week in the capital seeks to “clean up” soil’s image problem.
A Site to Behold officially opens tonight at Te Auaha Gallery on Dixon Street in Wellington and runs until 12 November. It has been put together by a Victoria University team from the Faculty of Architecture and Design Innovation—Phillippe Campays (Senior Lecturer in Interior Architecture), Carles Martinez-Almoyna (Lecturer in Landscape Architecture), Jacqueline McIntosh (Senior Lecturer in Architecture) and Bruno Marques (Associate Dean for Academic Development and Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture).
The team behind the end of academic year exhibition says architecture and landscape architecture sometimes sit uncomfortably in the space between science and art.
“This exhibition brings into question the prevalent single-minded view of ‘dirt’ and the mineral soils and subsurface conditions that make it up. Few know what lies beneath, and those who do are generally investigating soils solely for economic reasons.”
They say the contribution of soils to place and site-specific identity is lost to both designers and the public as the soils are buried under a flattened urban infrastructure (asphalt and buildings), eradicating the unique shape of our landscapes and the formation of ‘place’.
“This exhibition asks how an earth-based expression of place and its identity can inform design decisions and develop a distinctive local aesthetic.”
The exhibition investigates the uniqueness of soils in a transect from sea to sea, from the Kapiti coast and the Tasman sea in the west to the Wairarapa region and the Pacific Ocean in the east.
“As we penetrate the surface and delve below the upper organic conditions, we ask how we should acknowledge the soils beneath, their diversity and complexity.”
The team says soils are formed in layers, called horizons, which offer a history of place. “Following careful excise of the soils from existing cuts in the landscape and taking care to only sample on public lands, our method commenced with an examination of soil using a rationalist framework but with an awareness of its limitations—selecting, extracting, processing and revealing, before probing the hidden meanings and complexities of this approach.
“Each horizon was sifted to understand the nature of the soil and then reconstructed to show the variability of textures within the layer. Next, the topmost soil was placed at the base of the tube and the soil profile was recreated. Where two horizons join, the texture of the soils of each was matched, so coarse grain with coarse grain and fine grain with fine grain. The depth of each horizon provides a unique proportioning system specific to that location. A variety of techniques and media were explored to reveal the beauty of the hidden. The uniqueness and richness of the layers of soil can lead to new ways of understanding place through texture, colour and proportionality.”
The curators says their exhibition seeks to expose and explore the artistic potential of subterranean soil conditions to express unique regional identities and to challenge global emerging trends in soil use.
“For design professionals, it offers a reference catalogue of colour, structure, proportionality, and texture to be considered in practice. It also demonstrates how an exhibition can be used to curate soils and, in doing so, inform design decisions to encourage the development of an authentic regional aesthetic. The confrontation of the immense beauty and complexity of our samples initiated a moment of reflection, a reconsideration of the hidden inner world of soils and a deep desire for a different way of knowing.”
Republished with permission from New Zealand Institute of Landscape Architects Tuia Pito Ora. You can view the original article here.