Care of SOILS

Soil Care is part of a practice that could be described as soil-art, in which the artistic gesture shifts from the representation of nature toward a direct engagement with ecological processes. Developed in collaboration with biologist Fernando Souza, this approach draws upon principles of permaculture to create a sculptural practice grounded in care and attentiveness to the dynamics of living systems. Situated at the intersection of ecological art, biology, and theories of care, this practice conceives artistic creation as a relationship of reciprocity with forest environments. The artwork is no longer understood as an autonomous object but as a device integrated into the biological needs of an ecosystem. These biodegradable sculptures fulfill a triple function: to protect, nourish, and reveal the ecological potential of the environments in which they are situated. Aesthetics thus becomes a tool for the valorization, mediation, and protection of ecosystems, while the organic materials employed contribute to soil enrichment and make visible biological processes that often remain imperceptible. This research develops an aesthetic of compost, humus, and the slow temporalities of organic transformation. The installations operate simultaneously as ecological structures and symbolic forms, proposing an understanding of soil not as a passive substrate but as an active and generative entity. They take the form of offerings to plant life and soil organisms, opening a ritual dimension in which the ground is conceived as a space of transmission, resilience, and regeneration. The project also extends into exhibition spaces and educational contexts, where the artwork becomes a tool for raising awareness of the interdependencies between humans, soils, and ecosystems, transforming artistic practice into a mode of ecological care and knowledge transmission.