The Breath of the Soil: Memory Nexus is an art-science project that delves into the intricate relationship between soil and humans. Employing the sense of smell, it explores the soil and human memory, combining scientific, societal, cultural and personal perspectives.
The Breath of the Soil: Memory Nexus is realised in the frame of SPIN-FERT EU project, New Horizon / EU Mission for Soil
The scent of soil is a treasure trove of knowledge about its composition and the processes that occur in it. At the same time, it is a source of emotions and memories stored in the unfathomable layers of human memory. The Breath of the Soil: Memory Nexus intertwines nature and culture, scientific knowledge with individual experiences that resonate over time, shaping our identity and bonds with the world
The creative process involves participants from various backgrounds smelling samples of soil and recording memories and emotions evoked by them. These spontaneous responses are then collected into list poems, following the scheme “I remember….” and categorized into four groups. They serve as the foundation for creating models of RNA molecules, which play a fundamental role in cellular and evolutionary processes, including the transfer of genetic information.
RNA models composed of individual memories will be printed in a 3D printer from biodegradable materials. These particular “memory molecules” will be added to the soil and disintegrate over time, becoming part of the “living memory” of the soil and, indirectly, of the plants that will grow from it.
Following the assumption that “All is Data”, memory is conceptualized here as a zone of communication and dynamic interplay between various data sets, inspired by Leroy Cronin’s Assembly Theory, which theorizes life as the property of ” the Universe creating memory”.
Memory Molecules will be archived as an interactive app and website, serving as a repository of our collective memory and a message about the crucial value of healthy soil for current and future generations.
