Art & Science projects being developed by Joanna Hoffmann with the ASN Team in the frame of the SPIN-FERT/ Horizon Europe (Misson Soil) program
RhiZone: [Soil/Soul] is an immersive XR artwork that invites participants to explore the intricate life cycles within the soil, a living archive of ecosystems past and future. Inspired by the soil evolution, rhizosphere’s networks and the transformative processes of peat formation, the piece highlights the interconnectedness of life, bridging nature and culture while advocating for the protection of wetlands and sustainable horticultural practices. The project supports the communication of SPIN-FERT research on healthy soil and peat-free substrates.
RhiZhone
VR, 360 stereoscopic narrative, / music: Andre Bartetzki
As an artist, I envision myself as a part of an immense network of connections and interdependencies. In this meta-rhizosphere, life, in its many forms, is a continuously evolving, self-organizing system. This imagined network bridges the deep past, present, and speculative future(s), where organic and inorganic structures merge into one intelligent system. It is a dynamic network of data processing, scaling, and adapting where embodied memory becomes central to understanding life and its evolution.
RhiZone: [Soil/Soul] is an immersive XR artwork that takes participants deep into the heart of soil—a living archive of millions of years. This work delves into the layers of peat bogs, where organic matter transforms over eons, preserving memories of past ecosystems while nurturing the potential for future life. Through this exploration, participants are invited to experience the life cycles of soil, from its ancient origins to its constant renewal through decay, the cycle threatened by today’s erosion and desertification.
The artwork bridges the realms of nature and culture, showing how the rhythms of soil reflect the interconnectedness of all living systems. It reveals soil as a physical substance and a symbol of the soul—a space of transformation, death, and rebirth, where the boundaries between organic and inorganic, past and present, blur. As participants descend into this world, they engage with the cycles of decomposition, regeneration, and the subtle interconnections that sustain life beneath the surface.
RhiZone: [Soil/Soul] is a meditation on time, transformation, and the shared evolution of life and earth. Through immersive visuals and sound, this journey invites reflection on the fragile balance between destruction and creation, and the profound role that soil plays as a living, breathing entity within the greater ecosystem
Peatbogs
During the summer of 2024 (19 August), we went with Prof. Mariusz Lamentowicz to the research base of the ReVersal project in the nature reserve “Bagno Kusowo” – a peat bog reserve established in 2005.
It is probably the best preserved large dome-shaped peat bog of the Baltic type in Poland. Overgrown with peat mosses and bog forest, the peat layer reaches 12 meters thick. learn more
Peatlands are valuable ecosystems that affect the climate and are dependent on it. Although they occupy only 3% of the Earth’s land surface, they contain about 25% of the world’s carbon resources in the soil. Their ability to actively accumulate carbon makes them natural sinks of atmospheric carbon dioxide. As a result of drainage works, most of Europe’s peatlands have been drained, and peat decomposition has begun to outweigh its accumulation. This way, peatlands have started releasing more significant amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Paris Agreement assumes the rewetting of 500,000 km2 of transformed peatlands worldwide by 2050-2070. /M.lamentowicz/