Public Soil Memory for the Plantationocene

Public Soil Memory for the Plantationocene was a site-specific multimedia work installed on the grounds of the Sandy Spring Museum in collaboration with Bii Robertson. Using soil as a starting place and medium for remembering, the piece told the elided story of the severe soil degradation that resulted from the plantation system’s tobacco monoculture and slave-labor practices. Based on research conducted in the Museum’s archive, this piece challenged the dominant historical narrative of manumission and invited viewers to think about the contemporary ecological crisis in the context of enslavement and racialized violence. 

An accompanying essay was published online in Edge Effects magazine, and later published as a zine with funding from the NYC Urban Soils Institute.

Public Soil Memory for the Plantationocene
RL Martens and Bii Robertson
local soil, clay, three channel audio