Terram Revertis – Baptiste Miremont & Orlando Clarke, 2024

Terram Revertis, literally “come back to earth”, evokes the original gesture of the market gardeners which consisted of dredging the silt from the bottom of the Somme to the surface to create land for planting.

In this landscape of islands and canals, elements and living things interact. The Hortillonnages is a landscape shaped over the years by human hands, and today is suffering from a change in use. Without their past function of agricultural production, the islets are no longer maintained. In places, the banks are eroding and subsiding. However, in this context, Terram Revertis intends to remedy the destruction of this landscape by using art.

How? By using modules and plants. Two hand-moulded terracotta shapes are used, one horizontal and the other vertical. They are modular so they fit together and can cover any type of surface. Invisible cavities into which wooden stakes are inserted allow the vertical pieces to be anchored to the ground. The horizontal pieces are pierced with holes for planting. With these interstices, irises, grasses and young willows can anchor their roots in the ground and strengthen the structure. Multiplied, assembled and planted with vegetation, the modules create a matrix that combines anchoring and protection against erosion, and provides support for roots and water restitution. Using a principle reminiscent of ollas, porous terracotta which absorbs water and returns it to the vegetation.