Bulb full of biodiversity!
Artist and biologist Rafael Martig in the winter garden of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden
Artist and biologist Rafael Martig brings art to life - and this time he has done it in a very special way, not in the silence of his studio but live on location on a giant tulip bulb!
In collaboration with DNA in Beeld, Leiden University of Applied Sciences and Naturalis, Rafael spent months in the spring of 2025 painting an almost 2 meter high tulip bulb at three locations in Leiden: Het Gebouw, Leiden University of Applied Sciences and in the Hortus Botanicus. The bulb of (bio)diversity can be seen in its permanent place in the front garden of Leiden University of Applied Sciences. Immediately eye-catching are the recognizable buildings and iconic places in Leiden.
The giant sphere was moved from Hogeschool Leiden to the Hortus Botanicus partly using a handcart.
With this travelling, growing art installation, the project aims to raise awareness of the importance of healthier soil. If you look more closely at the bulb and walk around it, you will see that it tells a story of what kind of research takes place in the Bio Science park in Leiden. The emphasis is on the difference between organic cultivation, without pesticides, and traditional tulip cultivation. With organic tulip cultivation, the soil life gets the chance to recover and bloom - just like the tulips above it. The paintwork is rich in detail above the soil, but it also shows something less visible: life hidden in the soil. The stories on the sphere show that healthy soil is rich in biodiverse organisms and that this is directly connected to a healthy and biodiverse life above ground. For example, the bulb clearly shows the difference in biodiversity between the soil impoverished by pesticides compared to that in organic tulip cultivation. On the bulb, Rafael Martig depicted, among other things, the soil research of Leiden University of Applied Sciences and Naturalis. This research focuses on mapping soil biodiversity (using metagenomics) - and why it is so important. Because: the richer life in the soil, the more biodiverse life is above it. Read here how the research of the soil works.
The tulip bulb was on display for 6 weeks in the winter garden of the Hortus Botanicus in Leiden.
With a second round along the bulb, 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 on a tiled schoolyard. This nature-inclusive thinking and acting is also reflected in the new Master's program in Sustainable Education at the University of Applied Sciences.
During the live painting, the audience was invited and encouraged to join the conversation about the importance of biodiversity. Children, educators, and scientists gave input: what would they like to see painted on the sphere? Their ideas have been incorporated into the design, making the giant bulb a joint creation of the artist, Leiden University of Applied Sciences, Naturalis and the residents of the city of Leiden.
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.
During the three weeks that Rafael painted in Het Gebouw, after-school activities around the theme of 'biodiversity' were organised by Tulpenmanie Leiden.
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.
