Bulb full of biodiversity!
Art in Bloom: Rafael Martig paints for healthy soil
Artist and biologist Rafael Martig brings art to life - and this time he did it in a very special way: live, on a giant tulip bulb!
In collaboration with Tulpenmanie Leiden, the Leiden University of Applied Sciences and Naturalis, Rafael painted an almost 2-meter high tulip bulb at three locations in Leiden:
Het Gebouw, Hogeschool Leiden and in the Hortus Botanicus. From July 2nd, the bulb will be on display on its permanent location in the front yard of the Hogeschool Leiden.
Artist Rafael Martig
The giant bulb tells the story of Leiden, with recognizable buildings and iconic places, like the BioScience park, but also shows something less visible: life underground. During the live painting, the audience was invited and encouraged to join the conversation about the importance of biodiversity.
As a preliminary study for the giant bulb, Rafael previously painted a mini bulb, which can be admired in the winter greenhouse of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden.
Detail on the giant tulip bulb
On the bulb, Rafael Martig depicts the groundbreaking soil research of Hogeschool Leiden and Naturalis. This research focuses on mapping biodiversity in the soil (using metagenomics) - and why it is so important. Because: the richer the life in the soil, the richer the nature above it. Read here how the soil research is done.
During the three weeks that Rafael painted in Het Gebouw, after-school activities around the theme of 'biodiversity' were organised by Tulpenmanie Leiden.
With this traveling, growing art installation, the project aims to raise awareness for the importance of healthier soil. The emphasis is on the difference between organic cultivation, without pesticides, and traditional tulip cultivation. With organic tulip cultivation, the soil life is given the chance to recover and flourish - just like the tulips above it.
With a second, closer look at the bulb, more and more details can be discovered. The letters on the dandelion seeds on the artwork are a nod to the research "Language in Nature", which shows the positive influence that nature has on the development of young children. Children use 30% more language while playing in a natural environment than when playing in a tiled schoolyard. This nature-inclusive learning to think and act is also reflected in the new Master's programme in Sustainable Education at the University of Applied Sciences.
Detail of Het Gebouw and the Hooglandse kerk
The artworks, made by the children who participated in the after-school activities of Tulpenmanie Leiden, have been transformed into one large biodiversity collage by artist Anna Fine Foer.
The giant sphere was moved from Hgeschool Leiden to the Hortus Botanicus partly using a handcart.
