In Mouth Crumbles the Soil

‘In fingers crumbles the soil / what does it have to say‘– this is an inscription on a wall near my home. I borrowed it, making a small yet significant change: I replaced the word ‘fingers’ with the word ‘mouth’. I reproduced the shapes of these letters, modelling them from raw clay. The text could be taken literally. As time passed, it deteriorated, becoming increasingly illegible. The mother’s waning fosters the growth of her offspring.

This work relates to the concept of geophagy, a form of disorder characterised by a craving for substances not considered edible, such as soil, chalk or coal. The impulse to consume ‘non-food’ items may also stem from cultural, religious and economic reasons, as well as potential health and taste benefits. Clay is consumed in almost every corner of the world. As far back as two million years ago, Homo habilis was a soil-eater. The largest group practising geophagy are women, mainly pregnant and breastfeeding. This is explained in terms of the ‘wisdom of the body’, which reaches for what it needs and what will enable it to survive. There is a widespread alternative market for clay products which, according to the label, are intended for cosmetic use, yet are, as is well known, suitable for consumption. In many parts of the world, clay saves people from starvation, but consuming it in excessive quantities can lead to death. For consumption, some people take pieces from the walls of their clay huts, whilst others pay exorbitant sums for it in luxury restaurants. Viewed in this way, clay defines our ‘place’ in the world, our social position. Atavistic behaviours also show how close we are to animals. Beyond survival strategies, it is worth examining this phenomenon as a desire to restore contact with the earth, to renew the disrupted relationship with the nurturing mother. In psychological terms, the earth appears as the archetype of the Mother (the primordial mother – the being who gave life to the world). When this archetype is strong within us, we adhere to the principle: I consume that which I myself shall become; I eat the flesh of Mother Earth and shall be shaped in her image. Gaia represents an understanding of substance, contact with matter, a foundation, a resource. This archetype influences the acceptance of one’s own physicality and connection with emotions.