Exhibition of internationally renowned bio-artists opens on the 3rd of February

Halli

4/6 €

The first new exhibition of the year in Kunsthalle Seinäjoki opens in the Halli exhibition space. The Criss-Crossing Ecologies carried out in collaboration with the Bioart Society, presents works by artists whose research leads to questions about what coexistence is in different types of ecosystems and how humans relate to their environment. In the exhibition, the findings are conveyed in the languages of art, science and technology, in the form of photographs, installations, sculptures, videos and sound.

The environmental crisis has amplified the need to examine and reflect on our living environment – also through art. Director of Bioart Society, curator Erich Berger says that matters of knowledge and the examination of the real have shifted into the focus of artistic work: “Artists and other creative practitioners explore the world equipped with an interdisciplinary mindset. Here artists are not aiming to defend a postulated truth but are exploring the depth of what is real.”

The artists in the exhibition are internationally renowned and meritated in the field of bioart. Brandon Ballengée’s beautiful portraits of mutated frogs highlight deteriorating environmental conditions. Cecilia Jonsson observes the ocean tides in her video work, also Julia Lohmann focuses on the seas and seaweed as a material in her sculptures. Soichiro Mihara allows us to hear radioactivity in his installation. Leena Saarinen aims to bring the language of people and birds closer together by creating an alphabet for bird song. Antti Tenetz explores the possibilities created by artificial intelligence and biology in space exploration. The exhibition has been previously seen in Annantalo Art Centre in Helsinki and has been especially designed for children as a focus group. The curators are Erich Berger, Mari Keski-Korsu and Anna Puhakka.

The Bioart Society is a Finland based artist association which since 2008 fosters interdisciplinary work between art and science. The Society develops, produces and arranges activities that consider art and natural sciences and usually focus on biology, ecology or biosciences. The Society has an art space called SO-LU in Katajanokka, Helsinki and residency program for artists at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Research Station.

Picture: Brandon Ballengée: DFNL 26 Thelxinoë, 2020.