ODE FROM THE DIRT

Kasia Molga
X
Grow 

  • Can you introduce yourself? 


In my work, I fuse between art, engineering, science and imagination using design as unifying vehicle, which can describe me as a design fusionist. I create narratives by making installations and objects through which I question technology and how it changes our attitudes and perception of nature and environment. I believe that is very important in the current context of climate and environmental change and thus political and social transition. I also call myself an agent of Multinatural democracy. That is because my passion is environmental data/biodata – signals which come from other than human living organisms or chemical processes in entities thanks to which life is possible. I look at these signals as a language of the source and try to render it in such a way so we can understand it from other than only our point of view. My work wouldn’t be possible without technology, and so I often hack or appropriate existing tech while questioning this tech impact on individual and society.

  • Can you present your project Ode From the Dirt?

“Ode from the Dirt” is a narrative about the value of soil - told by the soil - that close by and that far away, about its conditions and about what influence that condition. It will be a number of audio-visual objects – devices and sculptures created together with my collaborator – sound artist – Robin Rimbaud aka Scanner. Soil importance (or even presence) is often disregarded and forgotten from “mainstream” conversation about “nature” or food sources or even “vacation in the countryside”. Meanwhile, it is often the beginning of everything and it has enormous influence on the socio-political landscape. Especially now, in the context of unforeseen futures due to the environmental change.

Robin and I will be looking at technology deployed by GROW, observing how growers and citizen use it, analyzing data while helping to create an accessible way of interpreting findings and most importantly giving soil - that in small gardens, plots or vast farmlands, close and far away from the city, the recognition it deserves. Through  “Ode from the Dirt” we hope to provide a voice to millions of invisible organisms and processes what constitute as soil - portraying it as a one living organ which must be kept fertile to feed us, and it will also comment on our interactions with them.

  • What do you expect from this residency? 

To get my hands dirty (literally and metaphorically) and understand as much as possible about the science of soil and growing, current conditions of soil from various regions and what it means for the future ; to observe and learn about work of scientists and growers and their attitude to soil; to learn and then use some technology applied to sense soil condition and investigate implications of both tech and state of soil for the future; to be inspired by personal stories of growers; to reach audiences which I never had a chance to reach and work with before – i.e. community of growers ; to convey their stories about their research and their relation to soil to people from cities ; to build new collaborations with scientists and technologists and to create opportunities for new work and new commissions in the near future.

Find more about Kasia Molga's project here


Inception meeting in Dundee, Scotland.  2017, November the 13th. 

From left to right: Drew Hemment (Grow), Kasia Molga (artist), Feimatta Conteh (FutureEverything), Deborah Long (Grow)