Somerset House celebrates 25 years in 2025 and to start the year they will kick off by presenting SOIL: The World at Our Feet, a landmark exhibition unearthing the wonder of soil, its unbreakable bond to all life, and the vital role it plays in our planet’s future.
Focussing on the inter-connection of soil and all life – SOIL brings together a range of stories and responses from a group of global artists, writers and scientists. Combining sensory artworks, historical objects, scientific artefacts and documentary evidence, it inspires and educates visitors about the power and fragility of soil, its fundamental role in human civilisation, and its remarkable potential to heal our planet. As the home of cultural innovators, this exhibition exemplifies Somerset House’s role in promoting creative solutions to the biggest issues of our time, connecting creativity and the arts with wider society.
SOIL is co-curated by The Land Gardeners, Henrietta Courtauld and Bridget Elworthy; curator and writer May Rosenthal Sloan and
Claire Catterall, Senior Curator at Somerset House:
We need to start thinking of soil as something more than just dirt. It is part of a vast range of processes without which human life would not be possible. Only in the last few years have scientists really begun to unlock the secrets of soil, and there is still so much to be discovered. With this exhibition, Somerset House continues to work at the cross section of artistic and social innovation; deeply engaging in the environmental and social issues of our time. SOIL is a chance for visitors to discover how this extraordinary, essential ecosystem – as diverse as the night sky is full of stars – sustains life on Earth, including human life.
Journeying through the extraordinary stories that soil reveals, we want visitors to see the potential of this amazing material not only to transform humankind and the planet, but also to provide an important marker for a radical new intersectional, collective and collaborative way of being.
Featuring over 50 works in a diverse range of media, including new commissions from artists such as Sam Williams, Something & Son, Semantica (Jemma Foster and Camilla French) with Juan Cortés and Vivien Sansour, this multifaceted exhibition will transport audiences on an uplifting journey across many landscapes, digging beneath the surface. Across three thematic sections, Life Below Ground, Life Above Ground and Hope – the story of SOIL will be one of humanity, providing a record of the transformational marks that geopolitical, economic and social histories leave on the skin of our planet. Each theme presents a powerful and thought-provoking interpretation, conveying feelings of movement, growth, emergence and life. Social and environmental cues are also poignantly recounted in the exhibition, through works by artists such as Jackie Summell, Annalee Davis, Eve Tagny and Fernando Laposse.
In the Great Arch Hall, artist Vivien Sansour brings to life stories of soil and its relationship to human culture. From topsoil being sold in the Caribbean to soil rehabilitation in Palestine to seed-saving efforts in North America – this work – the first of SOIL’s new commissions will be based on fieldwork and research combined with some fantastical elements including hand notes, plants, seeds, soil, and other items from the journey of learning and being with soil and its people.
Collective Marshmallow Laser Feast – known for their spectacular immersive art and technology fusions – present never-before-seen work, Poetics of Soil. This multimedia artwork also reveals the hidden kingdoms of life underground. Following a similar theme is National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson who also reveals the hidden roots to the world, through Big Bluestem – an impressive 13ft high photograph.
This exhibition illustrates how soil is the great interconnector, making all life on Earth possible, and its crucial relationship particularly to human civilisation with emotive stories of ritual, agricultural practices and cultural significance. Artists Herman de Vries, Miranda Whall, Ana Mendieta, Somerset House Studios artist Sam Williams, amongst many others, encapsulate the precarious symbiosis of human, non-human and soil. Human impact is extensively explored, with moving artworks attesting to the fragility of our planet but also inspiring stories of change. Somerset House Studios artist Maeve Brennan addresses the landscape of plastic waste and the temporality of the industrial age with film installation With Horses.
The finale to the exhibition will give visitors the creative space to think more deeply about soil’s vital role in sustaining life on Earth, now and in the future, encouraging them to leave full of possibility, hope and energy. Conceived by Somerset House Studios residents, Something & Son, in collaboration with The Land Gardeners, this section demonstrates processes within soil as well as opportunities to watch films, read and learn about people and communities finding new, creative ways to understand and nourish the soil from around the world.
Interspersed throughout the exhibition will be In-Focus zones curated by The Land Gardeners in collaboration with filmmaker Joya Berrow. These are supported by Mars, which, as part of its 2050 net zero commitments, has a focus on regenerative, climate-smart agricultural practices. The In-Focus zones will bring in voices of scientists and other experts, to give further clarity on key concepts of soil – augmenting the message of the exhibition told through artworks. Visitors will also be able to participate in a lively events programme and contribute their hopes, leaving the exhibition feeling inspired and optimistic for the future of soil and our planet.
With SOIL, Somerset House is giving visitors the creative space to think more deeply about soil’s vital and dramatic role in sustaining life on Earth, now and in the future. This exhibition hopes to inspire change – and to instil a sense of awe and optimism in those willing to dig below the surface of a world they only thought they knew.?
Participating artists include: Anya Gallaccio, Ana Mendieta, Annalee Davis, Asad Raza, Asunción Molinos Gordo, Clare Richardson, Daro Montag, Diana Scherer, Eve Tagny, Fatima Alaiwat, Fernando Laposse, France Bourely, Harun Morrison, Herman de Vries, Howard Sooley, Jackie Summell, Jim Richardson, Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige, Jo Pearl, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, Ken Griffiths, Kim Norton, Lauren Gault, Maeve Brennan, Marguerite Humeau, Mariana Heilmann, Marshmallow Laser Feast, Michael Landy, Mike Perry, Miranda Whall, Sam Williams, Semantica (Jemma Foster and Camilla French) with Juan Cortés, Something & Son, Theo Panagopoulos, Tim Cockerill and Elze Hesse, Vivien Sansour, Wim van Egmond.
SOIL: The World at Our Feet, 23rd January – 13th April 2025 Somerset House
Tickets: on sale here
