Soil Under Siege

Soil Under Siege examines soil as a site of memory, care, and conflict. Rooted in my Ukrainian background, the work reflects on the cultural symbolism of the country’s fertile black soil while confronting the ecological consequences of war.

The project is divided into three layers. The first one is the historical layer. Ukraine has long been known as a major agricultural country. The richness of the soil shaped local traditions, food culture, and even national narratives. Because of this, destruction of land during the war is not just ecological damage – it is also cultural damage. Here I work with archival and family photographs, which I combine with film stills from “Earth” (1930) by Oleksandr Dovzhenko. This juxtaposition creates an expanded perspective: the family images establish a personal and intimate connection to the soil, while the film introduces a broader social and political dimension.

The next layer – emotional – focuses on soil as a source of comfort and stability. I noticed that even small gestures, such as repotting plants or touching soil with my hands, bring a sense of calm and presence. This intuitive experience connects to grounding techniques used in meditation and trauma therapy, where contact with the earth helps to restore orientation. Lying on the ground, for example, is a known method to counter panic attacks. This part brings these ideas together through video-performances and photography in the place that I personally feel the emotional connection with.

The ecological layer focuses on the present, examining how war reshapes the land on an environmental level. In this section, I work with satellite images of Ukrainian fields marked by destruction. I plan to cut or burn out the sites of impact, translating them into holes in the image. Through this gesture, the image shifts from a distant representation to a material object defined by absence.

By bringing together personal experience with broader historical and ecological perspectives, the project considers how our relationship to the ground shifts in times of crisis asking what it means to trust the land, belong to it, and continue living with it after it has been irrevocably changed.