Bioart Society has started a collaboration with Annantalo, an arts centre for children, young people and families in Helsinki. The first fruit of the collaboration is an art&science exhibition titled Criss-Crossing Ecologies. The exhibition presents works that combine artistic observations of phenomena and the search of poetry in the factual through the lenses of art, science and design. The participating artists devise strategies to communicate their findings in various ways, with the aim of bringing out the unknown and invisible.

The material starting points of the works include seaweed, artificial intelligence in space, the sounds of birds, the acidity level of seawater, radioactivity or mutated frogs - and how they point to various natural and anthropogenic phenomena. The aestheticization of each research subject is a poetic quest leading to deeper questions: what is coexistence in different environments and what are the ways humans relate to the ecosystem they are part of? How can the changing world be perceived in these works? The transdisciplinary approach of the artists assists to bring these questions into light.

Brandon Ballengée highlights the deteriorating environment through mutated frogs he collects from his field trips. Cecilia Jonsson's work demonstrates the acidity of the sea with a giant indication device. In her work, Julia Lohmann focuses on seaweed as a material: what does this material tells us about the state of the seas and what could be done to stop the acidification? In Soichiro Mihara’s work, on the other hand, one can hear radioactive radiation, which became quite important in his home country after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Leena Saarinen aims to bring the languages of people and birds closer to each other by creating an alphabet for birdsong. Antti Tenetz's work explores the possibilities of artificial intelligence and biology from the perspective of space.

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Criss-Crossing Ecologies
August 20, 2020–January 31, 2021
Annantalo, Annankatu 30, Helsinki
Mon–Fri 8–20
Sat 10-16
Sun closed, except for August 30, September 13, October 18 and December 13 open 10-16.
For accessibility info and up-to-date information on opening hours, visit annantalo.fi

Photo: Cecilia Jonsson, Tides (Mandø, the Danish Wadden Sea Maritime Conservation Area), 2017. Still image from video.