Traces

Series of eight soil chromatographs, 2025

Traces is a series of chromatographs made using soil gathered from locations connected to the life of Naomi Warren, a Polish Holocaust survivor. The samples come from places across Europe and the United States that mark different stages of her life, from her birthplace in Wołkowysk to sites of persecution and survival, and eventually to Houston, where she settled after the war.

About the Work

To create each work, soil is mixed with water and a chemical solution and placed in contact with light-sensitive paper. As the liquid travels through the paper, minerals, organic matter and other elements present in the earth produce patterns of different colour and form. The process allows the soil to leave its own visual trace. The abstract forms sit between image and material record, connecting geographically distant locations through the substance they share.

Several of the samples also carry particular histories of their collection. Soil from Warren’s birthplace in present-day Belarus was difficult to obtain due to the political situation there, while samples connected to Ravensbrück and Bergen-Belsen were collected with the assistance of their respective memorial organisations. In Houston, soil was gathered outside Warren’s former home by historian Dr Myfanwy Lloyd.

Details

Eight circular soil chromatographs
Diameter: 18 cm
Framed

Exhibitions

Letters from Liberation, Holocaust Museum Houston, Houston, USA, 2026
Life Lines, Wozownia Art Gallery, Toruń, Poland, October 2025, as part of Vintage Photo Festival
Life Lines, Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock, UK, 2025