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Since ancient times, humans have been developing various ways to understand the soil’s condition through smell, sight, touch, and even taste. This rich history of our relationship with the soil continues today, as cutting-edge technologies, including “e-nose” and satellites, are used for monitoring the soil, providing a deeper insight into the complexity of its composition and processes at micro and macro levels.
However, without the involvement of our unique perceptions, senses, sensitivity, and imagination, dehumanised knowledge will be incomplete and perhaps even “barren.”
In light of global soil erosion driven by agricultural practices, industrialisation, and climate change, the Breath of Soil project is a crucial initiative. It seeks to revive and deepen the relationship between humans and soil and emphasise the critical importance of maintaining healthy soil for future generations.
Through an exploration of the language of smell and its significance in nature and culture, the project underscores our interconnectedness and our shared responsibility to protect the soil environment.
We cannot directly see or hear the breath of soil. Still, we can smell it: the chemical language of interactions between microbes, fungi, and other organic and inorganic soil components.
The smell reaches our nerve centres in the brain, triggering emotions, memories, and associations. Our body also sends olfactory signals, undoubtedly received by sensitive receptors of the "living soil".
As artists, environmentalists, agricultural professionals, educators, and individuals interested in sustainability and environmental conservation, we have the power and responsibility to decipher and respond to the soil's messages.
Merging human sensitivity, creativity, imagination, and knowledge with innovative technologies makes this vision increasingly real.
Let us immerse ourselves in the Breath of Soil and its life-giving interactions through artistic projects.
Joanna Hoffmann, with the ASN/SPIN-FERT Team, is realising The Breath of Soil as part of the SPIN-FERT EU project, New Horizon / EU Mission Soil.
