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The three-month long residence of Aisling O’Carroll & Lukáš Likavčan - Planetary Times winter fellows in the Planetary Scholars & Artists in Residence Program, culminated in the two-day workshop on the topic: “ Reading the Earth & Stars: Field Methods for Narrating Geological & Cosmic Time ”. The events from November 28-29, 2024, took place in the Physikalischer Verein in Frankfurt that houses an observatory and the Hermann Hoffmann Academy of the University of Giessen respectively.

The workshop comprised of series of talks, participatory experiments, and collective discussions that introduced and tested approaches for reading histories in the archives of rocks, soil, planets, and stars. The workshop aimed to expand our understanding of planetary time through geohistories found below our feet and in surrounding materials, as well as cosmological histories found in the night sky.

Day one of the workshop was conducted by Likavčan who focused on “reading the stars” which expanded our understanding of planetary time through cosmological histories found in the sky. The event began with an introduction from Markus Röllig , the Research Director of the Physical Society who explained the history and the importance of the Society which celebrated its 200 years in 2024 since its foundation in 1824. It was initially created to promote physics and chemistry and later grew to play a key role in the city's scientific landscape, from the regulation of tower clocks to pioneering weather observations.

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Adriana Knouf explaining the function of an astrolabe © Muthuwahandi
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Cosmogony 1: self-similarity of models © Cséfalvay

Then, Adriana Knouf (artist, writer, musician, xenologist; tranxxenolab) conducted an engaging lecture on the topic “Orienting for Transitioning Times”. With a hands-on approach Knouf made the participants explore one of the methods that were used in the past to orient ourselves to the skies using a DIY astrolabe. An astrolabe is an ancient instrument used for measuring the positions of stars and planets, determining time, and navigating. Knouf emphasized that in these transitioning times; a contemporary astrolabe would not only orient ourselves to the stars, but perhaps include exoplanets and black holes in addition to standard stars as well as orient us to our current needs such as measuring the rise of sea levels.

Afterwards, András Cséfalvay (artist; AFAD Bratislava) screened his video “ Cosmogony 1: Self-similarity of Models ” that tackled the genre of origin myths. A Cosmic Jellyfish with a thousand million arms, contracting and waving its tentacles was seen on the screen. Cséfalvay’s narration revealed that the jellyfish represented the foundational element of existence, as the primary mover, as the shape of all things, as the first form out of which all has been created, and made in its image.

Day one wrapped up with a stargazing session at the Frankfurt Observatory where the participants could “read the stars” through a telescope on a clear sky in the Rhine-Main area.

Day two of the workshop was conducted by O’Carroll on “reading the earth” with a workshop on circular soil chromatography. The workshop conducted by Danielle Hewitt (artist, historian; London Metropolitan University) was a practical example to show the interdisciplinary nature between art and science which used photographic chemistries to reveal components held within samples of soil that the participants brought to the workshop.

The day started with Hewitt, Knouf and O’Carroll guiding the participants with their soil samples. The soil extracts were first made with sodium hydroxide – a substance that reacts actively by breaking down rigid, solid substances, long and complex molecules making them smaller and more mobile. Then the filter papers were soaked in a diluted solution of silver nitrate – a substance with extremely sensitivity to light that created a photographic record of the components held within each sample. The group then tested and observed how the solution spread across the circular filter paper separating the organic matter of the soil, creating a natural banding effect which effectively took the entirety of the day.

The workshop was enriched further with impulse talks by Hewitt and JLU professors Markus Fuchs (geomorphologist) and Jan Siemens (soil scientist). The topics they elaborated were on “ Soil Chromatography: Producing Images of and with the Soil , How to Read Time in Sediments through Light , and How to Assess the Impact of Time and Humans on Soils , respectively.

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Preparing soil samples to produce soil chroma © Muthuwahandi
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Soil chroma © Endres

Alexandra Arènes (landscape architect, researcher; IPGP Paris) then conducted a hybrid lecture on “Gaia-graphies: Inside the Critical Zones”. The Critical Zone (CZ) refers to the thin layer of the Earth’s surface that sustains life, where rock, soil, water, air, and living organisms interact. Arènes argued that emphasizing the importance of soil and the Earth's surface (CZ) is difficult using the traditional planetary view and proposed an "anamorphosis"—a shift in perspective from the conventional geographic grid to a "Gaia-graphic view." The new perspective focuses on the Earth's surface and better highlights the role of the CZ, making it more suitable for understanding the Anthropocene and the new forces shaping the planet.

The workshop concluded with participants presenting the soil chroma they had developed and sharing the stories behind the significance of the soils from which their samples were collected.

Our sincere gratitude goes to Aisling & Lukas for conceptualizing this multifaceted program, to our keen participants, to Prof. Siemens for providing the essential material for the soil chromatography workshop as well as to Johannes at Veganatural for their support in making this workshop series a huge success!