Immersing myself in the winter of Berlin in 2024 for two weeks, I wandered through the ever-changing nature of the city, the quiet plantation beds of the urban landscape, and the lines in front of techno bars. I tried to connect myself with Berlin, but my body seemed to reject my willingness to blend in by playing the travel tummy warning card. The stomach cramps were a combat between the microbiomes I carried natively from my hometown and the new microbiomes I had been exposed to. In Chinese, travel tummy is called '水土不服'—unaccustomed to the local water and soil.
As a home remedy for travel tummy, my grandmother always requests that I carry a bag of cooked soil from her garden in my luggage whenever I travel abroad. She advises that during the initial days of an upset stomach, I should mix a tablespoon of this soil with hot water to alleviate the travel tummy. My grandmother believes that consuming the soil can help rebalance gut microbiomes.
While I never dare to risk ingesting unknown minerals and microbes, I do believe in the magic of soils, as people worldwide have historically turned to soil consumption both physically and spiritually. The gestures of returning to the essence of nature show the intimate relationship between our bodies and the land we consume.
TO CONNECT MYSELF WITH BERLIN,
I SYMBOLIZED INTERNAL SOIL CONSUMPTION THROUGH TEA CEREMONIES,
EXTERNAL SOIL CONNECTION THROUGH PRODUCING WEARABLE TIE-DYE FABRICS.
I started to collect soil from various locations across the city over two weeks. I uncovered soils that witnessed history and narrated tales of social changes from urban plantations, frozen snows, and construction covers.These practices are not only my way to connect my body with Berlin but also to celebrate soil as a living history book and a foundational element for the city's future growth.