CIISA- APPLYING FOR WILDER COMMUNITY EXHIBITION: SOIL

I wanted this project from university to be able to live on in something else. As I have a strong stance that knowledge should be shared with all, I wanted to submit my work into this exhibition. Communal living spaces like Braziers Park I find an incredible idea. For my dissertation I am looking to work with the volunteers at the Tablehurst Community Farm in Forest Row, I thought that this would be a good learning experience to try to understand how these communities work. I also like the Communal aspect of this exhibition. I also align with their ethos and I am exited to see where this might go.

Text extract about the exhibition taken from the Braziers Park website :

Braziers Park has a long history in hosting so-called ‘Wider Community Weekends’, where people come together for an often extended weekend to exchange skills, stories, and experiences. Braziers’ second Wider Community Weekend this year will be curated around the theme of soil and will take the shape of a gathering – celebrating all things earthy!

The main focus of this gathering will be on building and promoting a healthy relationship with the ground below our feet and to explore the rich life that exists within our soil ecosystems. Some of the planned activities include organic seed and plant swapping, clay harvesting and sculpting in the Braziers landscape, community gardening and planting, deep-listening and earthy reading sessions, community restoring of Braziers’ wood-fired kiln, muddy painting for children (and adults), garden tours, including an introduction to Braziers’ mushroom growing project, nettle foraging, cooking and bread-baking, soil chromatographic printing, and much much more.

Our Wider Community Weekends are a great opportunity to get to know our community and mutually exchange experiences and skills. Our SOIL Wider Community Weekend is the second in a series of three weekends, engaging with our 2025 theme of SOIL ~ SOUL ~ SOCIETY – based on the peace and environmental activist Satish Kumar’s ideas explored in his 2013 book Soil, Soul, Society: A New Trinity of Our Time. In his book, Satish invites us to think of us, humans, as members of a one-earth society, and claims that caring for the earth and soul is interrelated.

How they focus on sustainability : (taken from the Brazier Park website)

Ecotricity supply us with power which is generated from renewable sources. Where practical, we use LED lighting and automatic timing devices to reduce usage. We will soon undertake a study to determine what, if any, use can be made of solar power bearing in mind the restrictions we have
owing to the Grade II listed status.
Since 2010, our space heating and hot water have been provided by two biomass boilers, fuelled by woodchip or pellets.
We have installed dual flush systems in the toilet cisterns of the houses and composting toilets are used on the campsite.
We are investigating the use of water-saving showerheads and tap sprinklers.
Rainwater is collected from roofs and is used to irrigate the gardens during dry spells.
Permaculture techniques reduce the amount of water required in our gardens while providing a haven for wildlife.
Braziers Park has a large, productive vegetable garden, a greenhouse, a polytunnel and an orchard, all of which are tended without the use of chemicals.
We endeavour to provide fresh, seasonal, home-grown food at all times. Sometimes we buy locally produced ingredients, organic whenever possible.
Other supplies, including bulk purchases of rice, flour etc. are obtained from an ethical co-
operative.
When home-grown fruit or vegetables are in abundance, they are dried, frozen or preserved for later use.
Glass bottles and jars are used time and again. Plastic containers are refilled and single-use
plastics are avoided.
Braziers participates in food recycling by using a weekly scheme which distributes unsold food from supermarkets.
Meals are predominantly vegetarian, catering for vegans, meat-eaters and special diets as required. Each meal is prepared for a pre-determined number of people, minimising wastage.
Any leftover cooked food is collected by a local anaerobic digestion service.
Beehives are incorporated into the gardens and grounds and there are areas of woodlands, pasture and ponds where nature is left undisturbed.
Our fifty acres of land is surrounded by miles of native hedges, which are layered and tended as needs be.
Old trees are felled and removed when necessary or left to decompose to provide wildlife with food and shelter. New trees are regularly planted, taking great care to choose suitable species and locations.
Our community is situated just a short walk away from a frequent bus service, which has good connections to Reading and Oxford.
There is one “pool” car owned by the community and a shed full of bicycles!

This is a draft pdf of what my piece is about that I sent off the the braziers Park team:

BRAZIERS PARK OPEN CALL

Title: ‘The Sound of Quality’

Name: Mouse Purbrick

Soil is the basis of everything. It is such an integral and intimate part of our lives, from the food we eat to the foundations our homes are built upon. We live through soil; we owe our lives to soil. It feeds us, nourishes our land, helps our ecosystems flourish and ultimately returns us back to the land once we ascend to another world. So, why do we hurt our soil through pointless pesticides and intensive agricultural use? Organic, regenerative and biodynamic farming have revolutionised our way of eating. However, these movements have given rise, by no fault of their own, to an inaccessible diet that only nourishes the upper classes. In essence, happier and healthier soil costs money, money that for some isn’t expendable; yet these big chain supermarkets push chemically loaded, cheap produce into our mouths without providing transparency and accountability regarding the impacts and consequences. So how can we understand soil sonically and how can this Eco activism help replenish our misunderstood necessity?

My newfound inherent admiration and exploration into soil has unravelled so many questions. What is our connection to soil? How do we treat our soil? Does happier soil produce healthy produce? Does happier soil heal and make us healthier people? What does soil sound like? What is the sound of quality? In my exploration into soil, I really want to dig below the topsoil of what soil does for us and have a deeper understanding of the biological and scientific side of this unfamiliar world.

I come to this with an admiration and consideration of our mother Gaia. Through soil she feeds us, provides us shelter, maintains our waterways, takes the carbon dioxide out of our air and enables us to breathe. So, let’s appreciate her sonically through listening to one of her many wonders. Before I press record, I always ask, and after I end the recording, I give back in the form of a blessing or leaving an offering, to you soil I owe my life.

For this exploration I set out to find what I call the ‘sound of quality’. Happier and healthier soil tends to be very ‘noisy’. With this knowledge I set out with only a Geofon mic and my own curiosity. What does the soil around me sound like? What does soil from different landscapes sound like? I hope that you find this complex world as fascinating as I do, the more we push to understand this world, the more we all start to treat our soil with the dignity and respect it has always deserved.

In each area that I have carefully selected to take these recordings I have a personal relationship to the land and the soil that lays beneath it. My practice is focussed around eco activism and sonic ethics. Being a sound artist who focusses on field recordings and a person who follows pagan practices, I have intertwined my curiosity of sound and my love and connection to Gaia. I hold her in every thought, sentiment, conversation and reflection. Ultimately, my work is about conscientious stewardship for the land and highlighting environmental issues that I then debate and discuss within and outside of my practice.

For example, my family have lived at the ancient deer park of Eridge, a landscape that is very prominent in my sonic works. The trees there are my family and the soil holds the bones of my ancestors. Eventually I will be buried on that land in the form of a tree pod burial, bringing new life and rejoining my roots to those of my family. Dorset is where my parents brought me up. Wild, barefoot and naked, I used to eat mudpies and build dens in the summertime to house tea parties for all my teddys. Victoria park has become a sanctuary for me now as living in London I feel as if it is my only inner-city escape. This piece also includes the sound of the soil in the community gardens that I volunteer weekly at, for Energy Garden, a solar renewable company that uses it profits to rewild communal spaces in London, and lastly a wildflower farm on the boarder of Wales, which seeds I have sown in my very own garden.

I took the recordings using a Geofon and an H5 zoom mic. With each landscape I visited I not only took recordings of the soil but field recordings of the surrounding area to give you a broader understand of what happens above and below ground. In the recordings I start with Eridge Deer Park, then I go onto show you the wildflower farm near Wales, followed up by Victoria Park combined with Brockley community gardens as the two are both a part of the Energy Gardens communal gardening, and lastly, I end with my home, Dorset.

I envision this piece being played on a loop in any space, either on headphones to give it more intimacy or out loud in a room to allow more than one listener at a time. As the track is longer than 20 minutes, I don’t intend on having people listening to the whole thing. Instead, I envision arousing the human curiosity through the sound of the soil and enticing them to dip in and out if they wish.

This piece is an on-going project as my curiosity for soil will never end. I would like to end this entry with a quote from Simon Barnes’s book ‘Birdwatching with your eyes closed’, “If we learn how to listen to the wild world as well as we look at it, we will understand our own environment more profoundly, and relish that sense of completion that comes from the rediscovery of links with our ancestral past.”

This is what I ended up sending as the word limits were much lower than what I had written:

ABOUT THE WORK: 700 WORDS MAX

TITLE: ‘We owe our lives to soil’

Soil is the basis of everything. It is such an integral and intimate part of our lives; from the food we eat to the foundations our homes are built upon. We live through soil; we owe our lives to soil. It feeds us, nourishes our land, helps our ecosystems flourish and ultimately returns us back to the land once we ascend to another world. So, why do we hurt our soil through pointless pesticides and intensive agricultural use? Organic, regenerative and biodynamic farming have revolutionised our way of eating. However, these movements have given rise, by no fault of their own, to an inaccessible diet that only nourishes the upper classes. In essence, happier and healthier soil costs money, money that for some isn’t expendable; yet these big chain supermarkets push chemically loaded, cheap produce into our mouths without providing transparency and accountability regarding the impacts and consequences. So how can we understand soil sonically and how can this Eco activism help replenish our misunderstood necessity?

Happier and healthier soil tends to be very ‘noisy’. With this knowledge I set out with only a Geofon mic and my own curiosity. What does the soil around me sound like? What does soil from different landscapes sound like? I hope that you find this complex world as fascinating as I do, the more we push to understand this world, the more we all start to treat our soil with the dignity and respect it has always deserved.

In each area that I have carefully selected to take these recordings, I have a personal relationship to the land and the soil that lays beneath it. With each landscape I not only took recordings of the soil but field recordings of the surrounding area to give you a broader understanding of what happens above and below ground. I start with Eridge Deer Park, the trees there are my family, and the soil holds the bones of my ancestors. Then I go on to show you a wildflower farm near the border of Wales, which seeds I have sown in my very own garden. Followed by Victoria Park, a sanctuary for me now, as living in London I feel as if it is my only inner-city escape, combined with Brockley community gardens as the two are both a part of the Energy Gardens communal gardening that I volunteer at each week, and lastly, I end with my home, Dorset where my parents brought me up. Wild, barefoot and naked, where I used to eat mudpies and build dens in the summertime to house tea parties for all my teddys.

This piece is an on-going project as my curiosity for soil will never end. I would like to end this entry with a quote from Simon Barnes’s book ‘Birdwatching with your eyes closed’, “If we learn how to listen to the wild world as well as we look at it, we will understand our own environment more profoundly, and relish that sense of completion that comes from the rediscovery of links with our ancestral past.”

BIO: 250 WORDS MAX

I learn only from nature. A child barefoot naked and hungry with curiosity, I have always asked why? My practice is critical, considerate and curious. Why?” might appear to have an obvious importance in communication– it enables us to question others, delve into deep analyses, debate and express alternative views. Whilst I understand its fundamental significance, “Why?” has always meant more to me: everything I do, from my art practices to seemingly trivial conversations, has been driven by “Why?”. The question embodies my inquisitive, analytical, and deeply instinctive nature – Why was I born at this time in the earth’s history? Why do I hold this specific identity? Why do I wonder why?

My work delves into the ethics of field recordings and sonic eco activism. Alongside following pagan practices, I hold my relationship with Mother Gaia at the heart of everything I do. She is in every thought, sentiment, conversation and reflection. Ultimately, my work is about conscientious stewardship for the land and highlighting environmental issues that I then debate and discuss within and outside of my practice.

My previous works have searched for a lost connection with ancient practices such as communication with the natural world spanning from landscape heritage, tree commination and birdsong. I hope to find answers within my sound that can lead me back to my ancestral roots. Sound not only entices me but allows me to question what we think we already know.

This is the sound that I submitted:

I have had to split it in 2 because the whole track exceeds the file limit for this site.

CIISA- APPLYING FOR WILDER COMMUNITY EXHIBITION: SOIL

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