SOIL FUTURES OBSERVATORY

SOIL FUTURES OBSERVATORY is a research-based art project that examines soil as a site of ecological memory, material knowledge, and environmental change. Through printmaking, mapping, and material experimentation, the project treats soil not only as a natural resource but also as a historical record that holds evidence of land use, contamination, and adaptation. The work involves analysing the physical and visual properties of soil–such as texture, pigment, and pattern–and translating them into visual forms that highlight the relationships between geography, history, and climate. The project incorporates elements of fieldwork, pigment extraction, and speculative cartography to engage with land as both data and archive.
Grid scan: soil memory shift, 2025
22 x 30
Monoprint (third pull), organic matter, string, one color pigment on Rives BFK paper
Biotic color uplift, 2025
11 x 15
Monotype, two color pigment, organic material on Rives RFK paper. 
Pressure Drop
11 x 15
Monotype, two color pigment, organic material on Rives RFK paper
Residual light after storm
11 x 15 
Monotype, one color pigment, organic material on Rives RFK paper
Pulse Memory, 2025
11 x 15
Monotype, two-color pigment, organic material on Rives RFK paper
Recent printmaking by Jackson places process at the center, allowing material interaction to shape both form and structure. Works such as “Grid scan: soil memory shift” and “Biotic color uplift” emerge from soil, string, and ghost printing techniques in which color shifts, surface textures, and compositional variations are central. This approach is guided by educated guesses and practiced gestures of placement, developed through sustained work with soil and compost as primary materials. 

 Earlier work by Jackson often began with a defined framework–projects like the “Missing Data Quilts” series employed silkscreen and fabric, with controlled ink bleeding incorporated into the printing process. These earlier peices used more structured imagery and composition, whereas the current practice emphasizes open-ended arrangements led by the properties of the materials and the printing process. 







Terrestrial Atmospheres