INSIDE EXHIBITION

Our lives depend on soil, yet we rarely think of it as something valuable that needs to be cared for and nourished. In contemporary thinking, soil has been reduced to little more than a place from which to harvest crops, to trample and plough endlessly, and into which to pour waste and debris, because soil seems to tolerate everything. Such an attitude has brought us to a situation where soil fertility has declined drastically, and according to scientists, humanity has, on average, only around sixty harvests left.

One step towards recognising the value of soil is to acknowledge it as a living environment – a habitat in which continuous and diverse forms of life take place. The aim of this work is to bring to light a fragment of the biodiversity that exists beneath the soil. It is an attempt to shift our anthropocentric perspective, to perceive soil not as meaningless dirt, but as a multilayered habitat. Mycelial networks, plant roots, bacteria, protozoa, algae, nematodes, springtails, centipedes, mites, and all the others who inhabit the world beneath our feet – this is a hidden life that is difficult to comprehend at a human scale, yet upon which the world depends.

For the exhibition, stylised, oversized “portraits” of life forms inhabiting the soil have been created. The author hopes in this way to disrupt our habitual, anthropocentric sense of scale. Enlargement is not merely a visual device here, but an ethical gesture that gives scale to what we otherwise fail to notice. What is usually microscopic and hidden is presented on a monumental scale. The images are perforated onto paper, through which natural or artificial light shines from the punctures.

The installation in the seminar room also includes a sound composition by John Grzinich, based on sound recordings made in the soil using geophones.

Evelyn Grzinich is an artist and curator based in South Estonia. She received her art education at the Konrad Mägi Studio and in the painting department of the University of Tartu. In 2001, she co-founded the international art residency Mooste Creative Residence (MoKS), which has played a significant role in her professional development, enabling direct collaboration and knowledge exchange with creatives from all over the world.

Although Grzinich’s academic background is in painting, her creative practice is multidisciplinary and encompasses a variety of techniques. Her signature style is characterized by an organic approach that ranges from systematic to chaotic, focusing on experiments at the intersection of organics, aesthetics, and artistic norms.

Grzinich has participated in numerous exhibitions and residency programs both in Estonia and abroad. She is a member of the Association of Estonian Printmakers and the Estonian Artists' Association. Since 2022, she has served as the executive director of the Estonian Creative Residencies (LOORE).

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EXHIBITION'S

October 22 – November 21, 2026

University of Tartu Botanical Garden seminar room

Open every day from 10:00 to 17:00.
Admission with a botanical garden ticket.
Open until 23:59 from Oct 22 to 24.

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