What if farmers were paid to adopt farming methods that ensured that the carbon that is causing trouble in our atmosphere was sequestered in their soils?
Lucas Ihlein's collaborative project with inventor Allan Yeomans (son of P.A. Yeomans) 'Baking Earth: Soil and the Carbon Economy' explores this possibility. This project is currently part of the exhibition Shapes of Knowledge, curated by Hannah Mathews at Monash University Museum of Art, February 9 – April 13, 2019. For the exhibition, Lucas and Allan are presenting a fully operational demonstration model of the Yeomans Carbon Still, which will be used to test the carbon content of soils of various farms throughout regional Victoria.
Allan Yeomans with the Yeomans Carbon Still
Yeomans Carbon Still installed at Monash University Museum of Art
Public discussions will take place in the gallery involving engineers, climate scientists and carbon farming advocates about the potential viability (economic, legal, botanical) of an agricultural approach to carbon sequestration. While the Yeomans Carbon Still is not yet an approved method for testing soil carbon, one of the aims of the exhibition is to explore the viability of getting the Carbon Still accredited by the Australian government.
10 min video documentary by Lucas Ihlein about the Yeomans Carbon Still. Video footage and editing by Wayward Films, Wollongong. Music by Robin Grey.
You can find out more about Baking Earth: Soil and the Carbon Economy at this website.
Find out more about the exhibition here.
Exhibition Dates:
9 Feb – 13 April
Exhibition Hours:
Tues-Fri 10am-5pm
Sat 12-5pm
There will be a field trip on Saturday 9th March to collect soil samples from Niels Olsen's family farm in Hallora. Bookings essential. You can find all the details here.
There will also be a roundtable discussion at the gallery on Saturday 23 March about soil carbon sequestration, its opportunities and challenges. With Allan Yeomans (inventor of the Yeomans Carbon Still), Louisa Kiely (Carbon Farmers of Australia), Dru Marsh (Victorian Government Environment Dept), Lucas Ihlein (artist), farmers and engineers. You can find all the details here.
MUMA Address:
Ground Floor, Building F
Monash University,
Caulfield Campus
900 Dandenong Road
Caulfield East
(Melbourne) VIC 3145
