From soil to canvas – an artwork to inspire fellow researchers is gifted to the ECI

Hazel Faulkner is a retired Professor of Applied Geomorphology at Middlesex University and now enjoys spending time painting. The painting, entitled ‘Desertification, Almeria, Spain’ is an acrylic on canvas and depicts the processes that drive gully erosion.

Professor Faulkner said:

The painting is based on a photograph of the typical gullies seen in many semi-arid landscapes. The dendritic forms on the left of the painting are those that are normally ascribed to surface processes, whereas the tubular forms on the right are those more associated with piping processes.”

Hazel added:

I feel very privileged that the painting has been put up here at the ECI. Here I feel it has a home where it will be appreciated and understood by other geomorphologists. By putting process knowledge into art may improve it, and perhaps aids the further wider understanding of landscape."

Some might wonder whether other types of artistic knowledge can be compatible with science. Prof Boardman added: “When writing we are also creating. I completed degrees in English and Geography before studying Geology, and you’re constantly thinking how best to interest people creatively; it’s a constant challenge.”

Prof Faulkner has always painted, initially as a hobby, she now works with a studio of similar artists at the City Literary Institute. She exhibits her work, which can be found online and on her Instagram page.

She was introduced to the ECI this year through her lifelong friend and sometime colleague, Prof John Boardman, Emeritus Fellow at the ECI. The pair both grew up in small village in Lancashire, both studied geomorphology and have worked together on a couple of research projects; one of which involved comparing erosion problems in the South Downs to those in south east Spain. Prof Faulkner has also contributed a chapter entitled Piping Hazard on Collapsible and Dispersive Soils in Europe to Prof Boardman’s book Soil Erosion in Europe. 

The ECI is delighted to have received the artwork and hopes Prof Faulkner’s experience and knowledge in geomorphology will inspire others at the start of their career.