The air, rich with the aroma of clove and cinnamon, is the first sensation to greet visitors as they enter Delcy Morelos’s immersive earthworks. In the subdued light, a monumental soil sculpture gradually materializes, much as the Colombian artist envisions. Encased within its colossal, terraced walls of rich, red earth, a profound silence and sense of peace prevail, as if being cradled by nature itself.

Nearby, another visitor lies on the ground, lost in contemplation of the towering, circular structure that stretches 12 meters into the sky. The urge to touch is strong, but instead, the observer inhales and studies the artwork, experiencing a blend of fascination, apprehension, and comfort. This is Mexico City, within “The Womb Space,” a breathtaking earthwork by Delcy Morelos.

Nearing the end of its nine-month run, this exhibition has become a word-of-mouth phenomenon, attracting over 60,000 visitors. Its allure stems from a potent, often nostalgic, appeal to the senses. One visitor, a woman in her 70s, whispered with emotion, “It smells like my ranch! Like playing in the dirt as a child.” It is revealed that the very soil used in the sculpture was sourced from the woman’s home region.

Together, we admire the cascading vegetation integrated into the earthwork, its palpable humidity, and an almost uncanny vitality radiating from within. Standing within feels akin to being inside a mountain – an experience that instills humility and a connection to our more primal selves, eliciting a response that is deeply visceral rather than purely intellectual.

English Translation:

‘It smells like my ranch!’ Diva of Dirt Delcy Morelos and Her Amazing 30-Tonne Earthworks

The earth’s cool breath is the first thing that hits me. Scented with clove and cinnamon, it catches my senses by surprise in the dim, while a vast soil sculpture emerges around me as if from a dream, just as the artist intended. I’m contained within its mammoth, terraced walls of reddish soil and struck by the silence, the peace felt in being held by nothing but earth. Another visitor lies on the ground nearby, contemplating the circular, 12-metre-high structure towering above us. I resist the temptation to stroke it, instead smelling and observing the work, feeling a mixture of curiosity, fear and solace.

I’m in Mexico City, inside The Womb Space, a cavernous earthwork by Delcy Morelos. Now in its ninth and final month, the show has been a word-of-mouth sensation, drawing more than 60,000 visitors. Its draw lies in an often nostalgic appeal to the senses – a woman in her 70s enters and whispers: “It smells like my ranch! Like playing in the dirt as a child.” Remarkably, it turns out the sculpture’s soil was actually sourced from the region the woman is from.

Together, we take in the earthwork’s cascading plant matter, its humidity and the uncanny aliveness emanating from within. It’s almost like standing inside a mountain: you feel humbled and somehow more primal, the response more visceral than cerebral.