A vegan and passionate animal rights activist, Erez Nevi Pana’s practice is based on investigating natural phenomena and environmental processes through material exploration. Nevi Pana’s investigations of salt has developed into a long-term research project; he has been working with salt in the Dead Sea for the past eight years—investigating the devastating imbalance of an over-abundance of salt caused by the industrialization and mineral extraction of the region. The culmination of this research is a body of work entitled Bleached (2018), where Pana submerges wooden structures encased in loofah into the Dead Sea to absorb the wasted salt, which then crystallize like coral formations over time. This podcast is brought to you by Wendy Teo and Eliza Collin. The research project 'Narratives of Soil' is supported by the British Council 'Connections through culture' programme.
Aayushi Bajpayee is currently a doctoral degree student under the supervision of Prof. Sarbajit Banerjee in the Department of Chemistry at Texas A&M University. She completed her undergraduate degree in chemical science and technology with a minor in chemical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati and master’s degree in chemistry at The University of Tokyo. Her graduate research is focused on the development of sustainable chemistry solutions to pressing global problems. Her areas of research include sustainable material development, produced water treatment, soil stabilization for automated construction, environmentally-safe alternatives to concrete, and carbon capture. Aayushi’s research has been recognized with the American Chemical Society’s Industrial and Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) Graduate Award, Community of Scholars Award, and Japanese Government’s MEXT Fellowship. It has also attracted substantial attention in the popular media including news features in BBC, The Guardian, C&EN News, along with 100+ news outlets in 23 countries across the globe. During her research journey, she is especially proud that she never strayed from the inevitable constraints of developing an entirely sustainable process. She strongly believes that if necessity is the mother of innovation, there is no greater need now than to take care of our planet. Contributors: Aayushi Bajpayee, Mehdi Farahbakhsh, Umme Zakira, Aditi Pandey, Lena Abu Ennab, Zofia Rybkowski, Manish Kumar Dixit, Paul Arthur Schwab, Negar Kalantar, Bjorn Birgisson, and Sarbajit Banerjee We acknowledge the support of this work from the X-Grants Program: A President’s Excellence Fund Initiative at Texas A&M University. This podcast is brought to you by Wendy Teo and Eliza Collin. The research project 'Narratives of Soil' is supported by the British Council 'Connections through culture' programme.
Peter Webb is a UK architect who has been focusing on the innovative use of materials in Architecture since his school days in UCL Bartlett. Throughout his career in Arup, Foster and partners and Heatherwick studio, he has worked on over 30 brickwork and architectural terracotta projects around the world. Many of these projects he has worked on have received national and international awards for architecture and sustainability. Peter’s love for clay started when he was looking at using building material sourced locally. He used to dig up clay from my backyard and started to build models out of it. For him, the process of digging up clay and simply firing it in a kiln to create some that can last hundreds of years was magical. This podcast is brought to you by Wendy Teo and Eliza Collin. The research project 'Narratives of Soil' is supported by the British Council 'Connections through culture' programme.
For our next podcast in the ‘Narratives of soil’ series we are in conversation Sean Ross, a multidisciplinary designer interested in exploring the intersection of nature and technology and how we can create a symbiotic relationship between the two. Within his work he is looking at emerging scientific developments and, using design as a tool, create sustainable interventions that stimulate conversation, and even ignite action, around how we can build a brighter future. We explore the intricacies of his most recent project 'Transmitting Nature' which focuses on todays digital technology driven world and tackles it by creating a counterfactual history that makes use of our contemporary knowledge to explore the possibility of re-engineering the hardware, maintaining greater sympathy for, and working in collaboration with, Nature. As well as a recent exploration in collaborating with soil to design new surfaced textures for wood with designer with Emily Boxall. This podcast is brought to you by Wendy Teo and Eliza Collin. The research project 'Narratives of Soil' is supported by the British Council 'Connections through culture' programme.
As part of the ‘Narratives of Soil’ podcast series, our podcast for this time will be in conversation with Maria Roy Deulofeu. Maria Roy Deulofeu is a London-based designer, researcher and maker exploring craft that encourages more sustainable practices. She uses critical design, and traditional and experimental modes of production to explore new narratives that evolve from an anthropocentric and extractive culture towards one that seeks to immerse species and the environment. Her interdisciplinary approach throughout her practice, allows her to work collectively along with a range of disciplines such as ceramics, archaeology and biology, researching alternatives for our current ecological political and social crisis. This podcast is brought to you by Wendy Teo and Eliza Collin. The research project 'Narratives of Soil' is supported by the British Council 'Connections Through Culture' programme.