“dissolve” is a video artwork that explores the themes of environmental transformation and the interaction between human presence and nature. The piece features the skeletal remains of a fig cactus, slowly moved by hand, with sand falling away and eventually burying the skeleton. This act mirrors the ongoing erosion of the land, a process intensified by climate change.

The backdrop of the piece – a decaying salt extraction site and the silhouette of eroded mountains – frames the narrative of environmental degradation. The falling sand serves as a visual metaphor for the erosion of the land, a process accelerated by climate change, which deeply influences the landscape of Salinas del Curro in southern Spain. Through this meditative action the video emphasizes the shifting focus from individual presence to the agency of the land itself, allowing the land’s transformation to take centre stage. “dissolve” calls attention to the delicate balance between human intervention and the natural world, inviting reflection on the forces shaping our environment and the marks left by both nature and human activity.

Concept and Performance
Patricia Woltmann

Camera and Editing
Saeed Foroghi

Sound
Diane Barbe

Developed during the residency “Desire and Disaster” at AADK, Spain.
Supported by Culture Moves Europe, funded by the European Union and Goethe Institut