Art&HENVI 2011–2012

PRIMA MATERIA - four artistic positions on ecology


 

PRIMA MATERIA - four artistic positions on ecology

Artists Laura Beloff, Ursula Damm, Mari Keski-Korsu and Tuula Närhinen present in the exhibition the result of  the Art&HENVI project.

Art&HENVI
Science and technology are amongst the most potent forces transforming life on earth, influencing and shaping our society on every level, resulting in the need to approach scientific, social, economical and cultural issues from a plurality of directions. The recognized benefits of interdisciplinary work leads as well to an increasing development of collaborations between artists and scientists especially in the area of environmental research, biology and biotechnology. These collaborations are motivated by a mutual interest and concern towards the transformations of our everyday life and the environment we live in and depend on. Art and science are both practices based on intellectual creativity which shape our experience, perception and understanding of the world. The Finnish Society of Bioart together with Helsinki University Centre For Environmental Research created the project Art&HENVI to facilitate this interdisciplinary project between professional artists and the HENVI research groups.



The artists have been working with the following research groups:
Forest and Climate Change: Optimizing forest management and conservation to account for multiple interactions with the climate - Mari Keski-Korsu
ENSURE - Enhancing Sustainable Urban Development through Ecosystem Services  - Laura Beloff, Ursula Damm
MULTIDOM: Multidisciplinary assessment of the role of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in the environmental status of the Baltic Sea - Tuula Närhinen