Speculative Stepping Stones
2024
In collaboration with Carmen Molenaar
With 'Speculative Stepping Stones' we investigated whether we can support rare, stone-growing lichens by creating good habitats for them.
Thanks to De Belofte, Carmen and Jurel saw the opportunity to collaborate. Finding themselves on strong common ground around topics of entangled ecosystems, they challenged themselves to find common ground in their current interests; natural clay and lichens. “Speculative Stepping Stones” comes from their research into lichen species that grow on stone. Many of these lichens are endangered because of their disappearing habitat due to cleaning or renovations. The wish arose to facilitate a refuge for these lichens. Carmen and Jurel found that local clay from Utrecht can provide a habitat with the right acidity and structure. Using video projection, they show which rare lichens could grow on the Stepping Stones, illustrating the clay's ability to facilitate lichen life when placed in and around Utrecht.
Stepping stones at Kunstliefde, Utrecht
With this work we want to draw attention to lichens, a symbiosis of a fungus and an algae or cyanobacterium. These special organisms are often overlooked but play a crucial role in ecosystems. They grow slowly in places where other life forms cannot survive, acting as pioneers that provide a foundation for other life. Lichens are very fragile; air pollution, renovations and cleaning activities are causing many rare lichens that grow on stone to disappear.
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We went looking for the local lichens of Utrecht. Spray-cleaned buildings, concrete walls, scrubbed empty stones; the lichens didn't seem welcome. The richest variety of lichens growing on stones can be found in the Netherlands mainly on boulders in the forest; here they are left alone. There we found them in abundance; these small but valuable habitats are even the only ones for some species. The desire arose to create a refuge for these increasingly rare lichens, and the question was whether we could use natural materials for this, after all, we wanted to facilitate life.
Vervuiling
Determination of stone-growing lichens
Delved clay
Werkhoven, Along the kromme rijn
Donkerbruin Dijkschildmos -
Xanthoparmelia pulla
During our research we discovered that many of these rare lichens require a low-limestone or acidic substrate, such as granite or brick.
Heavy clay can be found in the ground around Utrecht. When baked, this clay has the right structure and acidity for these lichens. So, we started creating clay habitats, in shapes inspired by both the fracture patterns of clay and lichens. These habitats can be spread outside to facilitate as stepping stones for the lichens.
Using the photos of three types of lichens, we created an animation that speculates and illustrates how these lichens can grow and spread on the Stepping Stones.
placing one stepping stone in Utrecht
Clay delving, Werkhoven