Ephemeral Natures: Soil Decomposition Processes In Contemporary Art.

As humans, we are intimately tied to global nutrient cycles through birth, life, death and decay.  Our footprint within these cycles deepens and widens with an increasing global burden on soil resources.  Yet changes in industry and technology that have enabled rapid resource consumption, have also shifted our perceived relationship to the soil, the land, and these natural cycles.  How can we be drawn back to our roots?  Some contemporary artists are approaching these themes with works that challenge viewers to reimagine these perceptions of our connection to the natural landscape.  Here, we discuss artists that examine our intrinsic link to the soil through decomposition processes.  For instance, Sally Mann in her haunting photographic series “body farm” emphasizes the simultaneous beauty and sorrow of the natural process of body decomposition within the ecosystem.  Other artists, such as Jae Rhim Lee, brings focus to the environmental signature that we leave when our bodies decay, particularly the toxic pollutants we ingest throughout our lifetime; she also offers compelling solutions to this problem through her artwork in her “infinity burial project”.  Together, these artists challenge our traditional philosophies regarding our relationship to soil and the landscape, and help us understand the ephemeral nature of our existence in Earth’s nutrient cycles.