Soil Micromorphology in a New Context the Science-art Project: "Ground-breaking: Experience Past Landscapes in Grains and Pixels"

The premise for the work described in this paper is that the public understanding of the application of soil micromorphology methods is limited; commonly only people working in the subject domains of soil science and, more recently, archaeology, readily appreciate the benefits of developing pedogenetic and archaeological under­ standings of soils through microscopic evidence. In this paper we discuss the nature of a science-art project that uses soil thin-section images as a basis for building an audio-visual installation called Ground-breaking: Experience Past Landscapes in Grains and Pixels. The importance of bringing to wider attention the intrinsic nature and use of soils and their study through micromorphology is developed as a theme. The creation of the installation itself poses questions in relation to the expression and understanding of cultural soils, and their interpretation. Similarly, the audiences experiencing the sounds and images in the installation may seek to develop a new narrative for the underlying scientific rationale presented. For audiences such as