Ear to the Ground
Ear to the Ground is a search for the spiritual in the physical fabric of the landscape, reflecting upon how relationships between the natural and spiritual world are created and transformed. The project has taken the artist through the archipelago of Stockholm, across the desert of Death Valley, and into the caves of nomads in South Africa. In her film Ear to the Ground: Wandering Rocks (below) an expedition is undertaken, exploring how the artist perceives the land and rocks of the desert. Throughout the project, Sparre has performed field recordings of the ground, reflecting upon what we understand and take from our experience of a specific space or object. Through the use of contact microphones, random and unique vibrations from ancient wandering stones within the deserted landscape are etched into digital permanence.
Ear to the Ground: Wandering Rocks (2020) | Short film | 09:04" (Password: Wandering rocks)
Ear to the Ground seeks to break down distance and the perception that nature exists apart from us. In order to face the threat of climate change, we must give voice to non-human actors – the gardens, the cities, the stones, the glaciers. Sparre wants to investigate how our relationship with the natural world can be re-evaluated by giving it a voice and a possible language. ‘Perhaps by repositioning our perspective, we can give rights to our environment and to the non-human actors of our world’, Sparre tells us.
Racetrack (scene from Ear to the Ground) | Film still
Ubehebe Crater (scene from Ear to the Ground) | Film still
“Sparre’s project is a combination of cinematic atmospheres, intriguing images and curious sounds that introduce us to the hidden, enduring and enchanting world of rock. Through careful and attentive landscape placements, the scenes offer a possibility to listen in to our future relationship with the Earth by paying attention to the often overlooked character of geologic situations. This absorbing and poetic work becomes a sensitive reading of our bodies in relation to the deep histories of the desert, and develops a language for an environment whose voice is not always heard.”
Death Valley (from Ear to the Ground) | Photograph
“I am drawn to Sparre’s mandate in giving voice to non-human actors. This work has drawn me to the seemingly contradictory fact that, as she puts it, ‘there is a nature that exists apart from us’, alongside Tim Ingold’s stance that ‘non-human entities of all sorts can enter into relations with one another, and even hold meanings for one another, which do not depend in the slightest on how they are used or perceived by humans, or even on any human presence at all.’ Sparre’s work invites me to stop and take on the role of spectator – I feel connected to something bigger than me.”
The entire universe is created by me | Engraved stone | Photo: Fredrik Sweger
Swedish artist Ulrika Sparre (1974–2025) applied her artistic practice to multiple media – creating installations, sculpture, photography, film, performance and sound art.
Sparre investigated the mechanisms, behaviours and social patterns that constitute our lives, often based on notions of the immaterial, the spiritual, and the mythological. The Leyline Project (2012–2018) examines an ancient phenomenon with research covering several aspects of Earth energies. In her series of works with rocks (and sound recordings) she aimed to present the hidden messages of the landscape.
Sparre exhibited at Färgfabriken, Reykjavik Art Museum, Varbergs Konsthall, Stene Projects Gallery and Index Foundation. Additionally, she performed a number of projects in public spaces. She studied at Konstfack (University College of Arts, Craft and Design) in Stockholm and at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam.
“Sparre breaks it down for us on clear terms. To combat the climate crisis there is, quite simply, only one thing we must do: listen.”