“Solar Critters” is a sound installation by Andreas Zißler, Fabian Lanzmaier, and Klemens Kohlweis where the entire environment transforms into an instrument. Sounds are created by primitive light-sensitive electronic circuits that respond dynamically to the travelling sun, subtly shifting through various states and, thereby changing their sounds and behaviour throughout the day. The sounds are amplified through three parabolic audio reflectors. 

These speakers create a narrow sound beam that gets reflected, absorbed, and redirected by the topology of the surrounding landscape with its forests, hills, bushes, and pits. Moving shadows, weather conditions, sun positions, and changing of the seasons become parameters in a long-lasting generative composition. Visitors are invited to wander around in the field, and thereby actively engage with the sonic environment of the solar critters.

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Austrian Embassy Tallinn

Andreas Zißler, Fabian Lanzmaier and Klemens Kohlweis are transdisciplinary artists based in Vienna. Sharing an experimental approach and coming from different backgrounds their collaborative work operates in the intersections of architecture, sculpture, sound and media art, resulting in site specific installations and performances.

Andreas Zißler webpage
Fabian Lanzmaier webpage
Klemens Kohlweis Instagram

The Estonian bog landscape offers an enigmatic zone for exploration; it is a territory where the register between remote sensing data and ground truth is unusually slippery. We approach the river, the riverbank, and bog, in search of boundaries, edges, and ecotones to interrogate contemporary notions of observation and inference.

A floating observation station is positioned at the boundary where habitats combine, marking sites of transformation that are challenging to capture due to constant change. Over time, the waters around the floating station will transform into a bog.

The observation station carefully considers the fragility of the environment in which it is placed, recognizing that peat restoration in bogs is key to Estonia’s climate action plan. The station uses scientific observational tools and methodologies such as a Secchi disk, cyanometer, and a Forel-Ule scale to document the shifting ecotone.

Special thanks: Bioart Society

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Claudia O’Steen and Aly Ogasian work collaboratively to produce multimedia, research based installations. Their work incorporates sculpture, digital media, drawing, writing, and photography, and their studio practice takes a flexible, idea driven approach. They have been awarded collaborative residencies at Rabbit Island, Wassaic Project, Haystack, Montalvo Arts Center, The Arctic Circle, and NCCA St.Petersburg, Russia, and have exhibited both nationally and internationally at venues such as The Russian State Arctic Museum, apexart, Flux Factory, and Ohio State University, amongst others.

Claudia O’Steen Instagram
Aly Ogasian Instagram

“Lawn Centrifuge” – a revolving patch of lawn. Buried underneath the grass, a platform spins a four-metre diameter disc of soil. Due to the centrifugal force, the spinning grass grows outwards and forms a unique pattern. A piece of kinetic land art, an astrobotanical machine, and a green thrill ride.

In 1982, Lithuanian scientists revolutionised astrobotany by world-first successfully cultivating a plant from seed to seed in microgravity. This thought-provoking project invites contemplation on the intricacies of space gardening and the ever-shifting ground beneath our very feet.

It not only evokes a sense of disorientation but also challenges our perception of a stable horizon. Traditional ways of seeing and experiencing are rendered obsolete, and our sense of balance is disrupted. The horizon line swirls and spills out, destroying the modernist constructs of subject and object, time and space.

Special thanks:
Paulius Vitkauskas, Rokas Tarabilda, Magenta Festival, Lithuanian Space Agency, Lithuanian National Museum of Art

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Lithuanian Council of Culture, European Capital of Culture Kaunas 2022, Creative Europe

Julijonas Urbonas is an artist, designer, researcher, engineer, founder of Lithuanian Space Agency, associate professor at Vilnius Academy of Arts. Former Prorector at Vilnius Academy of Arts. Former Director of an amusement park in Klaipeda.
For almost a decade, working between critical design, amusement park engineering, performative architecture, choreography, kinetic art and sci-fi, the artist has been developing various critical tools of negotiating gravity: from a killer roller coaster to an artificial asteroid made up entirely of human bodies. In these projects he coined the term gravitational aesthetics, an artistic approach exploiting the means of manipulating gravity to create experiences that push the body and imagination to its extremes.

Julijonas Urbonas homepage
Julijonas Urbonas Instagram

“Bodies Drip in Forest Calcification” is a biomorphic sculptural work presented as a slow performance with the environment of Maajaam. Over many months, shifting crystalline pools of brine will swell and evaporate, metals will oxidise and rust — time, weather, and the atmosphere aren’t solely effectors, but also participants in the work. 

The piece draws attention to more-than-human timescales, and materially predominantly uses waste plastics — which were processed following an approach of pseudo-alchemical transmutation into a form reminiscent of geologic rock.

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, British Council

Greg Orrom Swan, a London-based artist, designer, and lecturer explores the intersection of current biology and ancient geology at global and microscopic scales. Through installation, digital media, and experiential art he delves into human-nonhuman interconnections.

Greg Orrom Swan Instagram
Greg Orrom Swan webpage

How will our every action change the landscape? In this project, Studio Watershore invites visitors to pick up natural objects near the woods, place them on a 54-meter-long conveyor belt, and then transport them to the grassland. The conveyor belt that cuts violently through the forest is the symbol of industrialization, accelerating every action we make as a people sculpting this earth. As visitors and artists, our actions all contribute to this misplacement of the landscape.

Installation refers to distances in long consumption chains, which means that we no longer grasp the impact of our daily decisions on distant landscapes. A small act at one end of the world can bring about significant changes elsewhere.

Unlike the perfectly functioning machines commonly used in industry, the object here exhibits characteristics typical of living beings – the machine can tire, change its pace, and even fall ill.

Attention: the installation does not work in rainy weather!

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Studio Watershore is an artist duo by Taiwanese cross disciplinary artist Yu-Ching Chiang and Ying-Ting Shen, who are currently based in Rotterdam. Their works constantly explore the unique ways in which machine, human, and environment intertwine, while responding and questioning social and environmental issues.

Studio Watershore webpage
Studio Watershore Instagram

Everyone knows that finding a needle in a haystack is an impossible task. But what if it is done by a robot? Positioned at the centre of a haystack, the robot’s sole mission is to locate a needle hidden in the hay. Should it succeed, it will signal its triumph by ringing a sheep’s bell.

This project serves as a provocative exploration of technology’s limits and challenges the notion of artificial intelligence as a mysterious, all-powerful ‘black box’. Critics like Kate Crawford argue that AI is neither truly artificial nor intelligent. Similarly, Jeff Bezos has labelled it “artificial artificial intelligence”, highlighting its reliance on human labour that is often underpaid crowd work.

Moreover, this artwork prompts reflection on the relationship between humanity and the environment, adding a nuanced layer of commentary to the interaction between technological prowess and natural elements. It also raises critical questions about our reliance on technology: Is this the right path forward?

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, HKUST (GZ)

Varvara & Mar is an artist duo formed by Varvara Guljajeva and Mar Canet in 2009. Often the duo’s work is inspired by the information age. In their practice, they confront social changes and the impact of the technological era. Varvara & Mar are fascinated by artificial intelligence, kinetics, audience participation, and digital fabrication, which are integral parts of their work.

The artist duo has exhibited their art pieces in a number of international shows and festivals. Varvara & Mar has exhibited at MAD in New York, FACT in Liverpool, Santa Monica in Barcelona, Barbican and V&A Museum in London, Onassis Cultural Centre in Athens, Ars Electronica museum in Linz, ZKM in Karlsruhe, etc.

Varvara & Mar webpage
Varvara & Mar Instagram

“World Wind Radio” is an interactive sound installation harnessing nature’s strongest force. Taking the appearance of a wind sock, the installation plays a radio station from different parts of the world depending on the speed and direction of the wind. 

If the wind sock is rooted in Estonia, and a small breeze blows from the south, the audience will listen to live Latvian radio. With a stronger gust, they could enjoy Ukrainian, Zambia, or South African radio. On a day without wind, local radio is played.

Combining nature, technology, and human experience, the project highlights the importance of cultural flow. Erasing geographical borders through sound communicates how diverse cultural exchange makes the world a more beautiful place. Wind embodies the immigration of life. Radios are filled with curated music based on what moves the people of a nation. It’s a snapshot of the cultural landscape of a country. And, like the wind, electronic airwaves know no borders.

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Institut Français

Jeanne Harignordoquy is a French art director, creative technologist and maker based in London. Through her practice, she explores ways to blend the familiar with the unexpected, creating whimsical and surreal objects that draw attention to important topics relating to nature and the human experience.

Jeanne Harignordoquy Instagram
Jeanne Harignordoquy webpage

As a mysterious and symbolic antenna, the purpose of the artwork is to direct our attention to the surrounding environment and invite visitors into the presence. It’s like a utopian tool addressing the challenge of being unable to remain in the moment. The installation deals with the deconstruction of technology and brings attention to the space that technology inhabits. Discovering the object amidst the trees may require some concentration from the visitor.

The artist scanned specific tree trunks, using their data to model sculptures reminiscent of antennas. All materials used for creation are sourced from the exhibition area surroundings. The artwork is made from 3D-printed clay and treated with spruce resin, with willow branches used for attachment.

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, Savvaļa

Uģis Albiņš is a visual artist based in Riga, Latvia. His art reflects and questions our surroundings using diverse techniques and mediums, embodying cultural standards. His work is focused on solving abstract problems and highlighting production techniques as well as studying everyday experiences.

Uģis Albiņš webpage
Uģis Albiņš Instagram

“Wooden Conversations” ties a pair of pine trees to a wooden door via a cable and pulley system, creating a sort of ventriloquy where the living “wild” wood and the dead “domestic” wood each animate one another. The sounds of trees creaking and doors squeaking echo each other – the dead wooden product speaks with the voice of the tree and the tree’s voice is made recognizable by its similarity to the product’s creak. This work seeks to dramatise the shared fibres between nature and our built environment, which we tend to separate, so we might better acknowledge our ties to the wild entities seeded into our lives.

NOTE! The door and the trees can be moody and might not be interested in conversing.

Mohar Kalra is an American artist and researcher who creates interactive artworks that offer unexpected interfaces to the commonplace. In the process, he explores how we reflect and are reflected in the technological, biological, ecological, and digital systems that scaffold our lives.

Mohar Kalra webpage
Mohar Kalra Instagram

„Ups and Downs“ is an installation consisting of manipulated air tubes that rise and fall in regular intervals. Their appearance is adapted from the surface of birch trunks. With these obvious fake trees and their steady and unnatural up-and-down movement, we want to point out the worldwide intervention of humans in a natural cycle.

In many European nations, there’s a systematic felling of ancient, biodiverse forests, replaced by human-instigated monoculture landscapes. This is a cycle that repeats itself in different places time and time again.

With this installation, we would like to question this cycle and invite visitors to think about whether the forest manipulated by humans is still an attractive functioning habitat and what consequences result from it in the long term. Is sustainable forestry even possible and if so how could that look like in the future?

Attention: the installation does not work in windy weather!

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia, German Embassy in Tallinn

heidundgriess is an artist duo mainly producing interdisciplinary works with installation art since 2011. The artists blend art, architecture, and design due to their diverse backgrounds. Alexandra Grieß studied visual communication and photography, Jorel Heid works as a carpenter and a designer.

heidundgriess webpage
heidundgriess Instagram

In 2023, the artists embarked on a journey into local folklore, sacred sites, and the impact of deforestation. Inspired by the technique of micro-propagation used in forestry, their installation, “Kloonhiis”, was supposed to emerge as a new natural sacred site dedicated to the Maajaam community. It featured clones of tissue from pine trees (Pinus Sylvestris) collected nearby before their scheduled felling. Unfortunately, the plantlets refused to sustain life and so the work itself became an artistic sacrifice on its own.

Natural sacred sites in Estonia have served as a place for spiritual recharge for generations. These sites emerge from a communal urgency and ritual.

“Kloonhiis” is a circular formation resembling a sacred site. The mirror-like plate embodies artificiality contrasting the complexity of nature that defined the project’s final outcome. Test tubes on the surface house dead clones. The seven wooden poles in the ground are placeholders for the plantlets onto which the audience is invited to tie a traditional ribbon to activate the site.

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Anna Tamm and Vinzenz Leutenegger is an artist duo that started their collaboration in the Sandberg Instituut with a shared concern about the intersection of ecology and politics. Wild Bits is their first collaborative project where tree cloning and the Estonian context come together.

Anna Tamm Instagram
Vinzenz Leutenegger Instagram

Artwork titled “One Tree ID - How To Become A Tree For Another Tree” condenses the identity of a specific tree into a complex perfume that can be experienced by visitors in order to apprehend the tree’s communication system at a biochemical level. By applying it, a person can invisibly wear not just characteristics of the tree, but could potentially have a conversation with the tree.

The artist aims at creating empathy and exploring the way we use our senses to generate interactions between species. Like humans, trees and plants also have their individual odour. One Tree ID’s perfumes offer alternative ways of information exchange with the plant kingdom upon which we depend.

Plants emit and communicate via Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) that contribute to cloud formation and which we recognize as the fragrance of a forest. Each tree generates its own cloud. The roots and its bacteria, the tree stem and needles emit different VOCs. For creating the perfumes the artist collaborated with the scientists and a perfumer. To smell the tree, they compared the collected machine data and nose data to result in the “Cloud of the Roots,” “Cloud of the Tree Stem,” and “Cloud of the Tree Crown” which then lead to the synthesis of a One Tree ID perfume.

“One Tree ID – Betula pubescens” was realized in collaboration with Manuel Selg, molecular biologist and Marc vom Ende, Senior Perfumer (Symrise).

Supported by:
European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024, Cultural Endowment of Estonia

Agnes Meyer-Brandis is a Berlin based artist with a background in sculpture and new media. She creates works on the fringes of science, fiction and fabulation. Educated first in mineralogy, followed by studies at the art academies in Maastricht, Düsseldorf and Cologne, she has founded the Research Raft, a fictitious Institute for Art & Subjective Science that purposefully ‘is asking questions but gives no answers’ in fields such as climate research, environmental studies, meteorology, as well as synthetic and artistic biology. Meyer-Brandis’ work has been exhibited worldwide and awarded with many prizes, including two Prix Ars Electronica Awards of Distinction & the European Kairos prize.

Agnes Meyer-Brandis webpage
“One tree ID” webpage

The artist has explored the global underground ecosystem of mycorrhizal fungi (“Wood Wide Web”) by creating a metaphorical digital twin for it. The installation merges 3D-printed ceramic sculptures, mycorrhizal data sonification and fungal knowledge. Work engages the audience in an artistic exploration of fungal communities and their symbiotic relationships while advocating for their protection.

The soundscape is inspired by the polyphonic chant “Song For Gathering Mushrooms” sung by the women of the Aka people (an indigenous community, residing primarily in the Congo Basin of Central Africa). Song is reshaped by biogeographical data of the mycorrhizal network. 

The “Fungi Oracle” is an AI trained on scientific literature from the mycorrhizal dataset. It is fine-tuned with quotes from renowned books like “Let’s Become Fungal”, “Entangled Life” and “Ways of Being”. Oracle synthesises teachings about the mycorrhizal ecosystem, illuminating how symbiotic ideologies and insights from the non-human world can inspire human society.

Mycorrhizal research: Maarja Öpik, Tanel Vahter

FUNGI is funded by S+T+ARTS Project Grin and Wild Bits at Maajaam in the framework of European Capital Of Culture Tartu 2024.

Supported by
Schemerlicht Festival and Audio Ag, RME

Marco Barotti is a media artist. His work is driven by a desire to invent an artistic language in which a fictional post-futurist era is expressed through kinetic sound interventions in natural and urban environments. The primary focus of his work is to create a “tech ecosystem” that plays with resemblances to animals and plants.

Marco Barotti webpage
Marco Barotti Instagram