As ‘nature’ emerges due to this anthropogenic soil horizon, it allows citizens to adjust to the post-natural landscapes, either through recreation opportunities, reuse of land, or amnesia as the landfill vanishes from view. How could we collectively denaturalise our gaze upon these wastescapes and shift perspectives on the role of soil? How could the landfill become a catalyst on the urgency of soil health for »the body sponges up everything toxic upon earth«? And how could we foster understanding on the lack of circularity that creates technosols and contaminated grounds?
Touching Landbodies will be a national travelling installation and fieldtrip program in the Netherlands centred around the most recent anthropogenic soil taxonomy, namely technosols, found on wastescapes. For the first time, bespoke designed and printed maps of all recorded Dutch landfills will be displayed, along with 12 sampled soils as an artistic gesture of counter-mapping these hidden spaces forgotten under flora and fauna. Complementary fieldtrips at each location will invite locals to engage closely with landfills, to shift perspectives on the ‘post-natural’ and to evoke intergenerational debate on material circularity and soil.
The project offers a rare, situated opportunity to discuss the urgency of land use, waste streams, and soil protection.
Sigrid Schmeisser
Installation Design
Louis Möckel & Sigrid Schmeisser
Traveling Installation & Fieltrip Team
Sigrid Schmeisser
Stephan Mantel
Giulia Bongiorno
Nick Quist
In partnership with
ISRIC, World Soil Museum (Stephan Mantel)
Supported by
Stimuleringsfonds, Nederlands
Soilscape, EU
EFL, Nederlands
This sub-project has received funding from the SOILSCAPE project (Grant Agreement no. 10115651) through its Open Call, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme