The “Design and Aesthetics for Environmental Data” project that I am part of, is one of the ‘curatorial intelligences’ in the 2023 Helsinki Biennale (as ‘Critical Environmental Data’), alongside the Museum of Impossible Forms, TBA21-Academy, ViCCA@Aalto Arts and an A.I. entity. Titled New Directions May Emerge, the Biennale is curated by Joasia Krysa and it draws its inspiration from anthropologist Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing’s suggestion to learn from the art of “noticing”, centered through three main conceptual threads: contamination, regeneration and agency. More on the first list of artist participants and the theme here.
As part of the Biennale’s activities, a year-long “Ecological Thinking” artistic research studio seminar on the themes of environmental data, sensing and contamination is currently being conducted at the University of Arts Helsinki. The Masters and Doctoral candidate participants have contributed their thoughtful entries to the course blog, ranging from reflections on different aspects of the Baltic Sea, various extractive and weathered landscapes and the liveliness of lichens and cyanobacteria.
(Previous HB2023 press release here)
May Ee Wong, PhD 