Finish Bioart Society @ Hackteria Swiss Curriculum, Zürich

Erich Berger [email protected] http://bioartsociety.fi

Belof, Berger, Osva - Midnightsun, 2009, Linz/Kilpisjärvi

The Finnish Society of Bioart- established May 2008 at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station

Supports and produces interdisciplinary activities around art and natural sciences with a focus on ecology and biology

71 members from diferent disciplines

● is a contact node in international networks of art&science and bioart

● favours critical thinking, expertise and artistic and scientiic integrity

is the motor behind Ars Bioarctica together with the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station

mailto:[email protected]

http://bioartsociety.fi/

What is Bioart:

Bioart is an art practice in which the medium is living matter and the works of art are produced in laboratories and/or artists' studiosreworked as laboratory.

Antero Kare – SWAN - 2000




What is Bioart:

● Originally it is deined as art which is utilizing Life science and its technologies as its media of expression.

● It is rather actual then representational

● The process often is in the foreground and object/material based

● Established artistic practices are being Updated and informed by related questions

● Becomes related to environmental art, ecological art, landart, locative media and updated in connection with contemporary information technology and media

→ new practices


Victimless leather – TCA - 2001



The Finnish Bioart Society - currently 67 members Artists, scientists and practitioners with a diverse background, profession and practice

water ecology, ilm, the Baltic Sea, performance, pollution, electronics, climate change, DNA, genetic information, philosophy of life, philosophy of science, human physiology, trees, dreaming, politics of art&science, nature, environmental politics, music, media-art, bioart, photography, archaeology, activism, installations, microbiology, curating, theatre, DIY, water leas, cultural history, forest research, painting, genetics, producing, video

Terike Haapoja – Entropie - 2004




Strategic lines of work

● Ars Bioarctica

● Training and education

● Production of art&science related activities

● Promotion of Finnish artists and practitioners

● Local and International networking and collaboration

Anu Osva - Traveller, 2011




Tuula Närhinen - The Art of Cooking down the Baltic Sea - 2012


Finnish partners:

Helsinki University● Kilpisjärvi Biological Station● HENVI● Faculty of Biological and

Environmental Sciences

Aalto University● Aalto Arts● Bioilia

Finnish Academy of Fine Arts



Laura Belof – Appendix 2013


International partners:

● Techno Ecologies EU-Culture

● SYNENERGENE EU-FP7

● HYBRID MATTERS NCF

● HACKTERIA

● PIXELACHE

● DIY- BIO – EUROPE

… and similar organisations in Norway, Estonia, Denmark, UK, Germany, Netherlands,Austria, Spain, Portugal, Australia etc.



Why art&science work ?

● Science and technology are amongst the most potent forces transforming our life world

Richard Pell Post Natural History Museum 2011






● Predominant position of science in picturing the world

Terike Haapoja, Laura Gustavson – The Museum of Cattle - 2013

Paul Vanouse – Latent Figure Protocol - 2007







● Kinship - both are creative practices exploring our world through common core processes and questions

Anu Osva – Cotravellers - 2008

Rüdiger Trojok – Gene Gun - 2012








Problematic global situations attract multidisciplinary approaches

Mari Keski Korsu – Albedologger - 2012








Problematic global situations attract multidisciplinary approaches

● New aesthetic and material possibilities

Lucas Czjzek – Anima - 2013




Ars Bioarctica – a long term art&science initiative at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station

Kilpisjärvi Biological Station 2013




Ars Bioarctica – a long term art&science initiative at the Kilpisjärvi Biological Station

● Residency program profess. practitioners

● Workshops profess. practitioners, students

● Field_Notes art&science ield lab, biennial

Arctic Waters workshop 2011




Kilpisjärvi 69°N

Helsinki 60°N

Zürich 48°N




Ars Bioarctica Residency

Ars Bioarctica Residency Program 2009- ongoing





Field_Notes - Cultivating Grounds 2011 Field_Notes – Deep Time 2013

Field_Notes – HYBRID MATTERS 2015

Arctic Waters 2011 Saana Fjell Dividal 2013




Field_NotesFrom Landscape to Laboratory 2013

Edited by Laura Belof, Erich Berger and Terike Haapoja

Bilingual in Finnish and English 17 articles and additional material of Finnish and international contributors.

Field_Notes Book Cover




Yeastogram Workshop 2013Lucas Czicek

Johanna Rotko – Yestogram 2014UV exposure




Curies Children [glow boys and radons daughters] 2014Martin Howse and Erich Berger

Curies Children - 2014Curies Children - 2014




Making_Life - Art & Synthetic Biology research platform 2014Oron Catts +20

Making_Life 2014GFP E-COLI 2014




Bio-Commons summit 2014

Philipp Boeing, Alexander Murer, Stefano Golinelli, Thomas Margoni, Günter Seyfried, Jens Hauser, Pieter Van Böhmen, Rüdiger Trojok, Erich Berger, Markus SchmidtLaura Poplow, Laura Belof, Pia Lindman, Denisa Kera, Brian Degger, Eugenio Battaglia,Haosin Chang, Wisnu Wisdantio and more ….

Bio-Commons summit 2014Bio-Commons summit 2014



Evolving territory

Agnes Denes’ Tree Mountain – A Living Time Capsule - 11 000 Trees, 11 000 People, 400 years (1992-96)




Nancy Holt - Up and Under by - 1987-98


Evolving territory



Ilkka Halso - Kitka River – 2004

Ilkka Halso - Boulder Corridor – 2011


Evolving territory



API - Bramor – 2013

Laura Belof - Fruitlyfarm – 2006


Evolving territory




Erich Berger – Polsprung - 2012

Erich Berger, Martin Howse – as part of Case Pyhäjoki - 2013

Evolving territory

Erich Berger – Polsprung - 2012



Tarja Trygg - Solargraphy of Saana– 2009

Tuula Närhinen – Frutti Di Mare – 2008


Evolving territory



Remains of ammunition depot explosion (1916) in Kilpisjärvi in 2013

Junkers 88 – crash site (1942) on Saana 2013


Evolving territory



80+1 team – Kilpisjärvi - 2009

Field_Notes Cultivating Ground team – Kilpisjärvi - 2011

Field_Notes Deep Time team – Kilpisjärvi - 2013


Thank You !



Art & Photos

Finish Bioart Society @ Hackteria Swiss Curriculum, Zürich