Ground Up: Understanding Conflict and Environment Through Soil

Drylands: too often seen as wasteland, desolate, devoid of life. There might not be much water, but the soils of drylands are thriving with life, much of it invisible to the naked eye. This project brings together research into the impact of conflict on dryland environments, with an artist’s ability to communicate visually. It will commission an artwork that responds to the work of the WIDER-SOMA project, to provoke conversations about 1) public perceptions of drylands 2) communicating research to a wide audience and 3) arts-sciences collaboration on environmental topics. What is at stake when war breaks out in drylands? How can we best protect these fragile environments? And how can we communicate research effectively?