Digging Conditions

Technological developments enabled man to recreate life in a lab and go to Mars. Soon we will overcome all of our limitations. Yet these limitations are part of being human. To remind us of our ‘earthbound’ nature, Thom Bindels designed ‘Digging Conditions’. This set of tools embodies three fundamental human activities as defined by philosopher Hannah Arendt, in an attempt to counter ‘earth-alienation’. A wheelbarrow that throws out what was scooped up demonstrates ‘Labour’; the repetitive cycle of daily life. The shovel that compresses soil into blocks illustrates ‘Work’; our drive to create and to leave something behind. And the two-armed sand drill shows us ‘Action’; human collaboration and interaction – man can never exist alone.