The rhizosphere is the area of soil surrounding plant roots. It represents the hidden part of the plant. Typically unseen, the rhizosphere is nonetheless extremely powerful. It is the only place in the universe where death resurrects into life. In the spring, plants grow from their roots. In the fall and winter, plants perish and return to those same roots. The rhizosphere receives life in order to generate it. It is the center of perennial change, the pivotal point in the life of the plant. Conventional agriculture has fundamentally disrupted the microbial communities present in the rhizosphere: over-reliance on fertilizer inputs, heavy tilling practices, and compaction from machinery, have wreaked havoc on the delicate balance of arable soil. The creation of hardpans, compacted layers of soil that are impermeable to water and impenetrable by roots, has been a result of these poor land stewardship practices. 
These sculptures seek to bring awareness to the impact of hardpans on the development of healthy plant root systems. The three most common types of soil are present: sandy, loamy, and clayey. The base of the sculptures was created as a representation of hardpans: using a mixture of clay, sand, and limestone. In each, different crops are growing hydroponically. 
Viewers are invited to observe the roots of the plants, and how they develop according to the size of the container they are in. The containers, varying in depth and width, are essentially the area of rhizosphere offered to the plant which, in turn, will affect the plant’s development. 
The sand surrounding the sculptures represents the bedrock layer of soil. The dead root matter is to remind viewers of the cyclical nature of plants, and the importance of death’s role in the resurrection of life. The loamy soil is an indication that, what we see on the surface is not indicative of what happens underground.
All plants are actively living and growing before the viewers, and will continue to morph and change during their time in the gallery. All of these elements interact with each other to illustrate the balance necessary in creating a thriving eco-system I hope these pieces will both demonstrate the resiliency of plants in their adaptability, and the fragility of the ecosystem in which they are expected to grow.