More than 100 works of art made with 20 tons of soil are being exhibited at the Pearl Art Museum in Shanghai's Minhang District.

Japanese artist Sugisaki Haruna has spent long periods in the deep forests of Japan and India, collecting soil, transforming it into dyes and paints for fabrics, rocks and houses. Digging out the soil, pulverizing it, and mixing it with glue to make paints, it is a time-consuming process, but the artist said it makes her think about how human beings used to be when people were living closer to nature.
"Once upon a time, all pigments were natural, such as soil and ink. I have been trying to depict the sea and mountains, focusing on the vitality of nature, and expressing powerful vitality of life," said Haruna.
At the exhibition, visitors can see 200 bottles filled with various colors of soil collected from various parts of the country.
Chinese medicinal herbs, such as turmeric, ginger and angelica, can be seen hanging on the wall in this installation, created by So Wing-po from Hong Kong. She comes from a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
"I grew up surrounded by the scents and ingredients of traditional Chinese medicine. I hope people can imagine the growth and intertwined root systems of medicinal herbs in the soil as they walk through this installation," So said.
The exhibition includes installations, specimens, experiments, videos, paintings and interactive experiences. The museum said sustainable development and biodiversity are what many artists are trying to focus on, as they are relevant to every human being.
"Green, integrated, sustainable development, and biodiversity are topics that cannot be bypassed. These topics are relevant to everyone. Of course, sensitive artists will definitely be aware of this and the role they can play as artists in these topics," said Li Dandan, director of Shanghai Pearl Art Museum.
The exhibition started on Dec 16 and will last until March 17 of next year.