An artwork installation expressing the latent metaphysical qualities of place using soil as a medium.

Geist is a large ‘earth battery’ created for the exhibition Terra Ignota, exploiting the electrochemistry of soil to power a UV light and irradiate a fluorescent vessel. In doing so it seeks to give voice to the earth that powers it and express something of its supernatural potential.

The artwork features soil collected from a secret location on the Wirral and which was returned on decommissioning. The ground yielded 10V, enough to generously power a sealed vial of UV sensitive liquid – a kind of ectoplasm – connected intrinsically to the Erde which gave life to it. In its realisation, two poems felt resonant, Psalm by Celan and Voices from Things.. by Hardy. Geist invokes poltergeist.. or more rather stillgeist.

Thanks to artist Margaret O’Brien whose fascinating companion piece Resistance: West for this joint show did so much to create a challenging and other-worldly dialogue with my own.