- Venue
- Environment & Sustainability Institute
- Starts
- Saturday, March 21, 2015
- Ends
- Wednesday, April 15, 2015
- Address
- University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR109FE
- Location
- South West England
- Organiser
- ESI/RANE Creative Exchange Programme
Foreign Soil is a documented attempt to grow edible dessert bananas outdoors in the UK. By suggesting the imposition of this tropical alien on the traditional British countryside, the project opens up space for conversations about what it means to eat local food, and the future of UK food supplies.
Arist Gabrielle Hoad and ESI Associate Research Fellow Dr Jonathan Bennie have drawn on scientific and artistic processes to investigate human and plant adaptability. Working with a pilot growing site, a south-facing pasture on a Devon farm,they have mapped and modelled biologically relevant microclimates to make an informed assessment of the feasibility of banana cultivation – now or in a future climate scenario.
This year-long collaboration has highlighted the different kinds of knowledge that may exist in relation to a growing site – from the farmer’s insights, built by living and working on the land over many years, to the remote analysis and visualisation offered by virtual models.
This exhibition focuses on the notion of the model, both as a representation of something that might be built in the future (such as an architect’s model or an artist’s maquette) and as a simplified description that assists with predictions (such as a computerised climate model).
Open Mon – Fri 9am – 5pm
