Earth’s Canvas

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Geology has long inspired – and provided materials for – creative expression. The intricate colours, patterns and textures of rock formations serve as subjects for landscapes or abstract compositions, while Earth’s complex processes motivate artistic explorations of time and change. Minerals are used in paints and dyes, and as tools, while durable marble, granite, and limestone are utilised in sculpture. In September 2024, in a bold departure from the archetypal technical conferences, the Geological Society explored these concepts during the two-day meeting ‘Earth’s Canvas: Exploring Creativity in Geology’.

While the Society has previously run workshops on poetry and geology, the scale and ambition of Earth’s Canvas surpassed all previous events. Sessions on ‘Art, sculpture and illustration’, ‘Poetry and literature’ and ‘Music, sound and song’ brought together diverse disciplines to explore the impact of geology on creative observation, articulation, expression and outreach – this was a joyful event, all with the iconic Burlington House as a backdrop.

Art, sculpture and illustration

The palpable sense of excitement and anticipation around the event was summed up by Ruth Siddall who exclaimed, “I’ve waited 30 years for such a conference!” Describing the mineralogy of artist’s pigments, Ruth explained how art can be literally ground out from geology. Similarly, the material use of local rocks in paints was the theme of Trudie Wilson’s exploration of colour in the landscapes of the Isle of Wight. Trudie’s love of the geology there was infectious.

Sessions on ‘Art, sculpture and illustration’, ‘Poetry and literature’ and ‘Music, sound and song’ brought together diverse disciplines to explore the impact of geology on creative observation, articulation, expression and outreach © The Geological Society of London

Two seemingly unrelated talks were perfectly juxtaposed to great effect. In a labour of love, Calum Wallis invited viewers to ‘engage with deep time when time is tight’ (and perhaps to ponder the futility of imagining deep time) by sketching and etching realism from rock to paper, then eroding the work by dousing it with sea water. Meanwhile, Julie Brook used sound and vision to immerse viewers in the dramatic world of fire cairns exposed to the rising tide of the Hebridean Sea.

Glen Morris’s large, bold sculptures of fossils challenged perceptions of these typically small and delicate forms, while Duncan Macilroy used digital sculpturing software of the fern-like Charnia masoni – the iconic, first-recognised Precambrian fossil – to show that historical 2-D reconstructions didn’t, and perhaps couldn’t, fit the observations of a flattened 3-D reality. His presentation nicely illustrated that while geoscientists have always used artistic tools to communicate, they now have even more technology available.

In an analysis of one of Britain’s most significant 20th century modern artists, Rob Airey (Director of the Wilhelmina Barns-Graham Trust) explained how the work of Wilhelmina Barns-Graham [1912 – 2004] was influenced by and continually evolved in response to confrontation, as expressed in a series of paintings of glaciers in the Swiss Alps, Devonian flagstones in Orkney, and basaltic lava fields in Lanzarote that combine nature and abstraction.

Using the dramatic backdrop of expeditions to Antarctica, John Kelly conveyed the solitude in which artists often work. Closer to home, under streets of London, Gail Dickerson’s work drew on material exhibits from building sites and the geotechnical efforts that underpin the modern city’s continuing construction.

Poetry and literature

Patrick Corbett defined, linked and explored examples of geopoetry, geopoetics and geoscience, while Glenda Rome delved into the meaning and relevance of geopoetics with an excerpt from a soon-to-be-released cross-disciplinary film “Expressing the Earth”. Alyson Hallett gave an impassioned plea that rocks and stones have agency, and perhaps should all be returned to their place of discovery.

Poets tend to inspire reflection rather than confrontation.

Drawing on the dark history of the River Deveron catchment in Northeast Scotland in his poem ‘Twilt’, John Bolland explored the concept of a river catchment forming the fundamental unit of governance in the context of climate change, and the idea that to imagine a survivable future, we must re-imagine the past in the light of current knowledge. John’s poems remind us of the frailty of the climate due to our actions.  Geologist can see the results of past climate change recorded in the rocks and this poetic impression perhaps acted as a nudge to those in the audience.  Poets tend to inspire reflection rather than confrontation.

A poetry slam explored inspiration found in stratigraphic correlation, coastal imagery, fossils, glaciers, celanite, human sedimentation, geodes and science fiction, and highlighted the critical roles for creativity and nature in human well-being.

Paul Prudence touched on metaphor and illusion in geology – much appreciated by the ancient Chinese dynasties – with rocks as messengers and oracles, stones as portals to other worlds. Nicholas House delved into myths and legends derived from observing local geological phenomena, such as the indigenous explanations for the growth and death of Hawaii’s volcanoes. Antonio Raschi pursued this line further with an analysis of the geothermal environments that inspired the ancient classical text Dante’s Inferno, translating and setting the writing in the context of what was understood and politically acceptable at the time. Brian Whalley highlighted how glaciers, through literature, painting and photography, can engage people with fascinating science. During the ensuing discussion it was noted that many of us were engaged in getting “rocks into poems” whilst others were getting “words into rocks”.

Music, sound and song

This session highlighted the diversity of creative responses to Earth. Singer-songwriter Olivia Rafferty showcased a forthcoming album, sponsored by the Geologists Association Curry Fund, with catchy songs exploring geological processes as metaphors for human relationships; the convenors allocated her the one use of the phrase ‘rock music’ allowed at the event.

Pianist Andrea Granitzio challenged us to explore perceptions of time and space inside the darkness of caves, and the idea that sound waves and mountains both show movement, but on different timescales. Composer Matilda Brown explored the relationship between walking, geology and music in The Ground Beneath My Feet, noting that her path across Scotland was often influenced by structures such as the Loch Maree Fault and dramatic changes in Precambrian stratigraphy. These talks were followed by an evening performance which also included a poetic and musical response to the gentle landscapes of chalk and flint of southeast England by Victoria Field and Eduard Heyning.

Many collaborations begin with the idea of increasing public engagement, but can often go on to provide new perspectives in research, and new approaches to music and sound making.

Antarctica – such a place of wonderment and inspiration – featured strongly. A keynote address by Michael Begg entitled A Score In Ice: composing deep time in Antarctica reflected on how many collaborations begin with the idea of increasing public engagement, but can often go on to provide new perspectives in research, and new approaches to music and sound making. These include working with scientists to ‘sonify’ data streams and turning that into music. His recent residence as Antarctic Musician in Residence with the Friends of the Scott Polar Research Institute and Royal Navy provided dramatic video images linked intimately to evocative music in the new work Out of Whose Womb Comes the Ice. Steve Garrett also featured integration of science and music composition, making music from ice quakes and climate signals in his piece The Song of the Ice.

Rocks can also be fashioned into instruments. Lithophones were used to evoke palaeo-soundscapes (Rob MacKay) in a project involving the percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie.

Creative partnerships

The Heavy Water Collective, a group of three artists who use museum archives to create contemporary artworks exploring the themes of the environment, the exploitation of natural resources, and social history, drew attention to the intrinsic value of historical collections in times of environmental crisis – particularly focusing on exploitation and extraction of coal, oil, copper and other resources from the Arctic.

Historical collections were brought to life via collage and film

Historical collections were also brought to life via collage and film, in a powerful reminder of the “dirt” that begat many significant museum mineral exhibits (Rona Lee). In another collaborative project, Stone cutter Lida Lopes Cardozo Kindersley and geologist Steve Garrett described a dialogue between artist and Earth scientist that led to a comprehensive appraisal of the letter-cutting stones of Britain culminating in a new book.

Poet Simon Armitage’s collaboration with landscape architect Tom Lonsdale and letter-cutter Pip Hall to create the Stanza Stones was presented by Tom.  A number of Simon’s poems calved into rocks scattered across the Pennines landscape (which culminated in publication of a trail guide, The Stanza Stones Walk). Tom described the difficulties around locating and creating the Stanza Stones in the Yorkshire countryside, providing fascinating insight into logistical difficulties of “Big Art”.

Challenges

Cross-disciplinary projects are not without challenge. Neil Frewin facilitated a panel discussion Making Complex Projects Happen, stimulating vigorous discussion around the hurdles of deadlines, ways to measure impact, and the ongoing shortage of funding.

Arts funding is increasingly difficult to find. A session entitled Funding and Partnership Opportunities emphasised how critical it is to spread awareness of any opportunities for funding and partnerships, particularly in somewhat niche spaces, such as geoscience and creativity. Rodney Harris highlighted EarthArt – a series of collaborations between contemporary artists and scientists from the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol, UK, that provides a six-month artist fellowship followed by a six-month exhibition in the university’s EarthArt Gallery. The programme has run continuously since 2015 and provides an excellent example of how much can be achieved through university-art relationships.

Panel discussions highlighted some of the challenges and complexities of collaborative projects © The Geological Society of London

Reimagining Burlington House

For the duration of the meeting, Burlington House served as a gallery space, with artworks scattered throughout its grand rooms. Some works aimed to inspire new collaborations and hence new work, others to generate commissions. Together the exhibits demonstrated the diversity of geological themes and materials that inspire so many practicing artists.

A series of workshops allowed delegates to gain hands-on experience with a variety of artistic mediums including collage and carving on Portland Limestone from the Isle of Purbeck. Attendees were also encouraged to bring their own stone and pencil for sketching and could also delve into the Society archive via a display of geological field notebooks.

The Council Room became a Film Room showcasing 13 films that embrace and reflect on our landscape and how geology can impact the creative process. The films, of various length, were run on a loop with no start times listed, meaning that watchers came in – and left – at various points in the middle of something, taking with them a random piece of inspiration.

The Council Room became a Film Room showcasing films that embrace and reflect on our landscape and how geology can impact the creative process © The Geological Society of London

The Upper Library hosted an interactive performance piece that challenged the audience to think about all rocks as curatable items by inserting rocks into shelves for attendees to discover as they walked through the exhibition.  This was made into a film by Julie Upmeyer and Mari Rose Pritchard (www.julieupmeyer.com/void-fraction-archiving-conjecture/) to be shown at future Earth’s Canvas events.

The evening saw the arrival of a PA system, piano and seating as the Upper Library was transformed into an atmospheric venue for a sold-out evening performance of poetry and music.

An evening concert was hosted in the atmospheric Upper Library © The Geological Society of London

Beyond silos

Through Earth’s Canvas, we discovered that, unlike our technical disciplines, which tend to be rather siloed, artists often work across and beyond themes, which can bring fresh perspectives, fruitful ideas and new avenues for exploration. The event brought a range of creators into Burlington House to engage an enthusiastic new community who will communicate our discipline in new ways to the public at a time when this is perhaps more important than ever.

It is probably fair to say that rarely has such a high density of geologically themed artwork been read, played, seen, heard and felt in such a convivial environment. The Society should be congratulated for taking the risk and convening this meeting – the first dedicated Geological Society arts meeting in 150 years at Burlington House. Let’s hope we don’t have to wait another 150 years for the next one!

Authors

Patrick Corbett, Scottish Centre for Geopoetics & Heriot-Watt University

Lucy Williams, Rockhopper Exploration

Steve Garrett,  Musician, Earth Scientist

Peter Dolan, Dolan & Associates Ltd

Emma Jude, Fine Artist, Geologist

The Convenors (left to right): Emma Jude, Peter Dolan, Lucy Williams, Patrick Corbett, Steve Garrett © The Geological Society of London

Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Burngate Purbeck Stone Centre, Scottish Centre for Geopoetics, Friends of Scott Polar Research Institute, Searcher Seismic, Silverwood Wealth Management, and Geologists’ Association, as well as anonymous donors, for supporting the event. The convenors also appreciated the organisation and leadership of workshops by Sarah Acton and John Hegley. Geological Society staff are thanked for their hard work in bringing the event to life.

NOTE: © The Geological Society of London. All images are copyrighted to the Geological Society of London, while the imaged content is copyrighted to the original creators. Please contact the original creators for more information.

A list of the meeting attendees and their websites is available here.

A full meeting report is available here.

Earth’s Canvas: Meeting Feedback

There is just so much creativity in geology (science in general) and the link with the arts is more fluid than our “barriers” of art or science define it.

Frances Abbots Queiroz

Geology has a poetic language.

John Kelly

Geology as part of musical vocabulary.

Micheal Begg

Glorious reassurance that the worlds of art and science are enmeshed.

Tom Lonsdale

It was an amazing two days, bursting with so many knowledgeable and talented people. And there was a lovely atmosphere … I feel sure you will be seeing so many rich collaborations and connections occurring.

Julie Brook

I was taken and immersed by everyone’s work and ideas… so inspiring and I can’t wait to do more.

Matilda Brown

We share our lives in landscape … And, as so evident in the two-day conference, we are curious (and obsessed) with unpeeling the onion of time and causality that creates (present tense) the ‘ground beneath our feet’.

John Bolland

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