Description
"Dirt animated with life in the form of fungus, microbes, and bugs, is transformed into soil, the substrate upon which we reside. Soil Dwellers is a collaborative work inspired by insects that work the earth. Emilie Bess served up insect lore and language while carving what's below. Emily Van Kley's words lifted what's underneath into view. Wondering what kind of sound comes from underground, Melanie Valera burrowed below the surface to write the musical score. Catherine Alice Michaelis marked paper with plants and handset type. She designed a structure, segmented and articulated, a place for our broodings to dwell. Like insects sharing tunnels, we moved through each other's worlds: Bess stole words from Linnaeus, Michaelis deposited them into verse; Bess dissected the vernacular of Collembola for Van Kley to reassemble. Fertile and layered, the creation of Soil Dwellers took us under the microscope and across the landscape, metaphorically and literally, to examine this place and who dwells here."--Artist statement.