roots communications
kunstmuseum oulu, finnland, 2007
installation in public space
various plastic materials
"plants are in constant communication with a multitude
of diverse organisms. some symbioses, such as the association of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and mycorrhizal
fungi with plant roots, are beneficial to the plant. others, such as the interaction of plants with viral, microbial, fungal, and
nematode pathogens, are harmful. Most plant-organism interactions go unnoticed simply because they are underground."
the project roots communication deals on the one hand with scientific research concerning plant-to-plant communication and
relates this with research around the "under trees" and "in trees" issues. both representations are found within the art piece
from hayao miyasaki "totoro, nausicaä of the valley of wind and mononoke hime" and were the incentive for the here
described work. the japanese view sees the root as a roof, that is, what is not visible to us, logically,
the inverted perspective of the romantic picture "under the tree", if we could climb or fall down. the roots as well as
the tree top are both unexplored components.
One can just think of the huge rain forest trees, where new and still not researched vegetation was found. this project relates
to the trees found on the island of pikkisari. An apparently endless network and communication system was created, which attempts
to bring all these thoughts through to the observer, as well as to process the image and perception of the trees.
