Colombian artist Delcy Morelos has unveiled her first UK public commission, titled "Origo," at London’s Barbican Centre. Located in the Sculpture Court—a space reactivated for the first time in ten years—the monumental oval installation is constructed from earth, clay, hay, and seeds, infused with aromatic spices like cinnamon and cloves. The work invites visitors to walk through earthen tunnels, creating a sensory experience that contrasts the organic, porous nature of soil with the Barbican’s rigid Brutalist concrete architecture.
This installation is significant as it marks Morelos’s most ambitious project to date and highlights her unique fusion of Andean worldviews with Minimalist aesthetics. By placing raw earth within a site defined by post-war urban planning, Morelos challenges the perception of soil as a mere resource, instead presenting it as a living, sacred entity. The project underscores a growing institutional interest in immersive, ecologically-minded installations that address the relationship between human labor, territory, and the natural environment.