Trembling Earth

This film, finally completed after a long gestation period in June 2026, is my first foray into the world of soil. My interest in soil links directly to my desire to investigate what lies hidden beneath the surface of large scale industrial developments linked to the renewable energy industries. My interest has evolved slowly, beginning in Shetland in 2020 when armies of diggers began to excavate tonnes of soil and peat to construct the industrial scale Viking Energy Wind Farm. I am deeply worried by what is hidden from our view through extractivist practices. What is buried, what happens behind the scenes, and underground? I worry about the injury that the land, peat and soil, and its inhabitants incur through industrial scale developments for renewable energy being built across Shetland and all of rural Scotland to tackle the climate crisis. I wonder what we can learn from the soil that can nurture and repair human beings’ reciprocal relationship with the natural world.