Gyeonggi Ceramics Biennale 2026

Elena Khurtova sees soil not simply as a material, but as a living record of the relationship between humans and the environment. Through repeated acts of touching, pressing, and tending the earth, she explores how soil responds to human touch and its surroundings, continually changing over time.

For this exhibition, Khurtova presents soil blocks made from earth gathered in areas associated with the DMZ, including Yangpyeong, Yeoju, and Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province, and Yanggu in Gangwon Province. Since the 1953 armistice, access to the DMZ has been restricted under military control. It is a place marked by memories of war and division and, paradoxically, one that holds the potential for ecological recovery. Khurtova sees it as a landscape where histories of war and division overlap with ecological change.

The artist researched walls and anti-tank obstacles found across Korea and translated their forms into soil blocks. Take a closer look at the blocks. You can see differences in the color and grain of the soil from one region to another, along with cracks and textures across their surfaces. Though gathered from different places, these soils carry distinct histories and environments while remaining part of the same land.

The blocks were made using a rammed-earth technique, in which soil is added to a mold a little at a time and repeatedly compacted. Even when the form is carefully controlled, the result varies depending on the soil’s moisture and grain, and the surfaces continue to crack and change after the blocks are completed. Khurtova focuses on the tension between controlling the form and caring for the soil by observing its condition and responding to the material.

As you look at the tightly compacted blocks and the cracks across their surfaces, consider the memories held in this land and how we choose to treat and care for it.