Displace is a transient installation and a durational performance reflecting on the interplay of fragility and resilience of human and environmental conditions. Narrative and transient qualities of soil lead Elena Khurtova to research displacement through the case of excavated soil management in France. By EU legislation, once displaced, excavated soil is considered waste. Mediating with excavated soil management terrains in Aix-en-Provence, she welcomed 45 tonnes of displaced soil in the garden of 3bisF, on the site of Montperrin Psychiatric hospital. In parallel, traveling between the Netherlands, Russia and France she collected by hand numerous soil samples, embodying her personal connections and experiences with landscapes.
Drawing parallels between soil management organisations (Grondbanken in NL) and asylums, she investigates the notions of care vs control. Her approach to material translation is characterised by amplifying subtle gestures of care in relation to the given context of 3bisF, a former isolation pavilion for women of Montperrin psychiatric hospital. Countering the prevalent disappearance of intimacy with soil, she explores the potential of my body collaborating with the excavated landscape.

With the support of Mondriaan Fonds, Stichting Stokroos, Centre Hospitalier Montperrin
Photography © Jean Christophe Lett