TERRA INFIRMA EXHIBITION, 4TH-26TH JUNE 2022, DUNBAR TOWNHOUSE GALLERY

John Muir Fellowship artist Natalie Taylor has been creatively exploring the substance beneath all our feet.

Natalie has been working with people from the Dunbar community to shed light on a substance most take for granted. After doing research using microscopes at the ASCUS laboratory to study and photograph soil organisms from collected soil samples, Natalie then went on to create paint with the soils and use soil images as inspiration for her work. In this exhibition Natalie presents her art alongside other collaborative pieces made with the community, all exploring the role soil plays in our quest to rebalance the planet.

Included in the exhibition are photographic portraits of local people who are taking on the role of the Keepers of the soils,  a ceremonial cape made by Natalie and local people and worn on occasions to make significant soils more visible.

Soil contains over 25% of life on earth whilst supporting over 95% of humanity’s food supply. It also offers a solution to climate change in the form of sequestering airborne CO2 through regenerative farming and forestry practices. It is an immensely rich habitat for life and yet 40% of Europe’s soils are so depleted we have put at risk our own food security.

Natalie says : ”The earth beneath our feet is one of those substances we normally take for granted. Seen through powerful microscope lenses it teems with life and offers incredible beauty. My work for this exhibition aims to share this wonder with the audience whilst also giving people a chance to take part. We are telling new stories through art about regenerating our environment.” 

To read the art essay written by Lucy Byford that accompanied the exhibition – click here

Terra Infirma ran from Sat 4th June- Sunday 26th June 2022, 1-5pm each day at  Dunbar Town House Museum and Gallery, High Street, Dunbar, EH42 1ER, 01620 82069

The exhibition continues in the Rainbow Garden,at the Ridge in Dunbar where some of the Keepers of the Soils portraits are now displayed permanently.