Les Disputes d’AgroParis Tech #1

Our partner AgroParisTech is launching this season of the Disputes debate series with its customary pairing of specialists on an ecological issue who have contrasting views, alongside an artist with a highly critical perspective on the subject. The first debate topic dovetails with Beyond Reality? – The Exhibition and its “Unnatural Natures” space.

Farming land continues to disappear as cities expand, and we can now grow just about anything using artificial soil—or no soil at all, like for 90% of the tomatoes we eat. So what good is soil?

To debate the topic, we invited AgroParisTech Professor Claire Chenu, Special Ambassador for Soil to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and Donatien Aubert, a visual artist who produces living works. Aubert’s cybernetic gardens can bloom at any latitude or height. The works illustrate the influence of cybernetics on geoengineering, a branch of ecology that is a bit overzealous with technology. An urban farmer will join them to defend the advantages of soilless agriculture.

Image: Donatien Aubert, Les jardins cybernétiques, film still © Donatien Aubert