The technique of soil chromatography is traditionally used in agriculture to assess the quality of topsoils including carbon content and nutrients. Scholz has been experimenting with soil chromatography using collected soil samples and photographic components, such as coating filter paper in the dark with silver nitrate. Chromas with darker and more complex patterns and colours represent more ‘organic’ soils, which sandy and nutrient-poor soils lack. Once fully developed, the resulting chromas strongly resemble growth rings, a sort of photographic record that visually restores what was once perhaps lost such as ancient trees and soil minerals.
