Creative workshop “Portrait of the Soil: a soil chromatography laboratory” for adults

On Wednesday 25 March at 18:00, the creative workshop “Portrait of the Soil: a soil chromatography laboratory” with the artist Arūnė Baronaitė, intended for adults, will take place at the KCCC Art Yard, Daržų g. 10. During the workshop, soil chromatography will be carried out — a method that makes it possible to reveal visually the composition of soil and the chemical and biological processes taking place within it.

During chromatography, a soil extract is filtered through paper impregnated with silver nitrate — a light-sensitive reagent also used in photography. Under the action of sunlight and in reaction with the substances present in the soil, rings of colour, zones of diffusion and structures form on the paper. In this way the minerals, organic matter and traces of microbial activity in the soil become visible as unique “soil portraits”.

This practice makes it possible to understand soil as an archive in which the history of a place, the traces of life and its ecological condition are hidden. The workshops combine art, ecology and chemistry.

The workshop for adults is intended for more thorough investigation and experiment: more attention will be given to the chromatography process, to interpreting the composition of the soil and to reading the images. Participants will create individual soil “portraits”, observe the processes of filtration and diffusion, and have more time for analysis, reflection and discussion about soil ecology and its relationship with place.

The workshop is subject to a charge. Tickets are sold by Bilietai.lt. Ticket link: view tickets.

Please note that participants may appear in photographs and video recordings of the event published in various media.