Audio: Mapping Podo (2023)
Podoconiosis or ‘podo’ for short, is a little-known tropical disease that has been found over three continents in regions of Africa, Central America and India. It manifests itself as massive swelling of the feet, leading to profound lower leg disfigurement and consequent physical disability. The affected countries share both volcanic history and shoe poverty. Podo is caused by long term exposure to volcanic soils and is preventable by shoe wearing. Agata came across podoconiosis by accident, she writes:
I was keeping an eye on events in Ethiopia, through a previous project about unlawful killings in Axum in 2020.
I recall, at the time of working on the Axum project, looking at the photographs observing the dark brown and red colour of soils of Ethiopia, thinking how different they were to the non volcanic soils that I am familiar with in Poland (where I am from) and England (where I live). Certainly, not expecting that, some time later, the same volcanic soils would become a voice to tell another story. The story of podo.
Ceramic Objects Enhanced with Basalt
Nowak’s thoughts on her connection to podoconiosis. From adding basalt into clay objects and compering material qualities to her daily consumption of products from tropic and subtropics.
On EnTanglement
Inspired by podoconiosis, Nowak looked into minerals, Inspired by a graph representing oscillation of minerals, she explores material unfoldings. This part of the researched inspired a series of basalt fibre drawings entitled EnTanglements.
Human : Non - Human
From studying external presentation of podoconiosis - to an impact that this particular study had on thoughts and artworks created in response.
Kaolin mineral
Nowak discovered that kaolin mineral is found inside the macrophages and lymph nodes of people with podoconiosis; it is in the makeup of the volcanic soils. It is also a product of the weathering of basalt’s primary minerals. Kaolin seems to hover over the entire research into podoconiosis.