| Keywords | Year | Type |
|---|---|---|
| All 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 | All 2015 2016 2017 2018 | All Artists/speakers Commissions Documentations Events Journey items Journeys News Panel Static pages Two columns Wide page |
Thursday 9 October 2014
The journey starts on Thursday 9 October in Kirkenes with a symposium featuring a keynote lecture by Timothy Morton, and several guided walks investigating different aspects of Kirkenes. In the evening the first ‘Secret Chamber’ concert, curated by Ivan Zoloto and Anya Kuts from Petrozavodsk, will take place at a secret location. It features Chikiss, one of the most versatile artists on the Russian electro-indie scene, and slow ambient techno by Sergey Suokas.
Drilling Deep / Knowledge from Underground
Notes on the Kola Superdeep Borehole
Until 2008, the Kola Superdeep Borehole near the Norwegian/Russian border was the deepest borehole in the world. Deep drilling is like inserting a telescope into the Earth. If you extract drill cores, you can see what is down there. And in that light no borehole is as legendary as the Kola Superdeep. It was drilled from the 1970s in the framework of the former Soviet Union’s programme Investigation of the Continental Crust by Means of Deep Drilling. The deepest of its boreholes, the SG-3, reached a final depth of 12,262 metres in 1989. Now it is a ruin.Dark Ecology reading list
By Arie Altena Here's an overview of some of the theories, ideas, philosophical directions and books that have guided my thinking for ‘Dark Ecology’. It contains pointers to books and online resources, and is ‘spiced’ up with a few provocative or informative quotes from the mentioned books.
Dark Ecology Interview Tim Morton
By Lucas van der Velden & Arie Altena On the last day of the first Dark Ecology journey, Sunday 12 October, Lucas van der Velden and Arie Altena sat down with Timothy Morton, author of amongst others The Ecological Thought and Hyperobjects: Philosophy and Ecology after the End of the World, to reflect on the journey, his lecture and his experiences while there. Timothy Morton had opened the event the Thursday before with a keynote lecture entitled Human Thought at Earth Magnitude.
Dark Ecology, First Journey Report
We hope that this encounter, examination, or exploration will take many forms. In this sense Dark Ecology and the first journey are an experiment. It’s about imagination as well, imagining a past, a future, a politics, our connections. It’s also about trying to imagine something larger than us humans.
Field Notes: Making Things Speak
By Arie Altena To provide some invaluable insights into the upcoming Dark Ecology Journey, Arie Altena wrote an essay on the notion of ‘making things speak’. Making Things Speak is about giving a ‘voice’ to the non-human. Things can speak of many connections, with many with different interests converging in a single thing.
A Dark Ecology Special: Lectures, Interviews and Recordings
To get you in the mood for the upcoming Dark Ecology Journey, Sonic Acts Research Series #19 includes recorded lectures, excerpts of live performances, sound recordings and interviews made during the 2015 festival The Geologic Imagination. With contributors such as Timothy Morton, Jana Winderen, Espen Sommer Eide, BJ Nilsen and Karl Lemieux, Raviv Ganchrow, Ele Carpenter and Graham Harman.
Monday 30 November 2015
On the final day the programme will take place in the Russian factory town of Nikel. Here Tatjana Gorbachewskaja, in collaboration with Katya Larina, presents a conceptual tour and an interactive map to explore the materiality of her former hometown and the journey will conclude with a closing panel.
Dark Matters: an interview with Susan Schuppli
Susan Schuppli
by Lucas van der Velden & Rosa Menkman Dark Ecology Keynote speaker Susan Schuppli spoke with Lucas van der Velden and Rosa Menkman about what it means to be an artist and theorist working in the field of practice-based research and her concept of the Material Witness.
Dark Ecology: fragments, glimpses, notes and the relentless present
By Nik Gaffney Twice this year I have travelled north of the Arctic Circle, once to Greenland around Solstice, during the yearly cycle of continuous daylight and more recently at the edge of darkness in the Norwegian-Russian border zone...
Nikel and Nikel Materiality
Nikel is a small Russian mining city near the border with Norway. It was founded in the 1930s after enormous quantities of nickel were found nearby. At the time the area was Finnish. An infrastructure for mining the nickel was built in the 1930s with help from Canadian companies. Mining operations began in 1940. In 1944 Nikel became part of the Soviet Union after the Red Army defeated Finland.
Nikel and Nikel Materiality
Nikel is a small Russian mining city near the border with Norway. It was founded in the 1930s after enormous quantities of nickel were found nearby. At the time the area was Finnish. An infrastructure for mining the nickel was built in the 1930s with help from Canadian companies. Mining operations began in 1940.
Dark Ecology comes to the Sonic Acts Festival in Amsterdam
From 26 February – 1 March 2015, the Sonic Acts Festival will take place in Amsterdam. The research that we have been conducting for Dark Ecology, and the Dark Ecology Journey in October 2014, was crucial to the development of this year’s Sonic Acts festival theme The Geologic Imagination.
Dark Ecology Vimeo Album: A möbius research trip for thinking on objects beyond human perception
To sustain and develop ongoing ideas and conversations about some of the subjects within the three-year research project Dark Ecology, we invite key figures back to speak, reflect or create work in different settings. Philosopher and theorist Timothy Morton, from whom we borrowed the title 'Dark Ecology’, is one of the people who has been an integral part of this unfolding journey.
Dark Ecology Critical Writing Academy
On 9 and 10 October 2015, Dark Ecology and Fridaymilk will organise a two-day Critical Writing Academy, in Murmansk, Russia. This workshop is aimed at emerging and mid-career writers, critics, bloggers, theorists and journalists in arts and culture from the Barents Region.
Dark Ecology Journey
The second research trip in our Dark Ecology project will take place from 26–30 November 2015. The programme includes presentations of new commissioned works by HC Gilje, Margrethe Pettersen, Joris Strijbos, and Hilary Jeffrey, as well as lectures, discussions, guided walks, and concerts. More names will be announced soon.
Journey 2014
The first edition of the art and research project Dark Ecology will be held between 9 and 12 October 2014 in the border zone between Norway and Russia, with events scheduled in Kirkenes (NO), Nikel (RU) and Zapolyarny (RU). Programme highlights include a keynote lecture by American philosopher Timothy Morton, author of Ecology without Nature (2007) and Hyperobjects (2013), several commissioned works, by sound artists Signe Lidén and Raviv Ganchrow, artist/designer Femke Herregraven and photographer Marijn de Jong, and new ‘Secret Chamber’ concerts.
Dark Ecology residencies starting
Joris Strijbos, HC Gilje and Justin Bennett, Espen Sommer Eide and Signe Lidén, Hilary Jeffrey and Tatjana Gorbachewskaja will start their Dark Ecology residencies next week. We are also thrilled to announce that UK-based artist and researcher Susann Schuppli will join us on the Dark Ecology Journey and give a keynote lecture.
Tatjana Gorbachewskaja – Nikel Materiality
Sunday 29 November
16:00 - 18:00
Wood House, Nikel
Monday 30 November
12:00 - 15:30
Culture Palace Voskhod, Central Square, Nikel
Nikel Materiality by Tatjana Gorbachewskaja in collaboration with Katya Larina seeks to explore Nickel through the prism of the unique material ...
Thursday 26 November 2015
The journey starts in Kirkenes with a keynote lecture by American philosopher Graham Harman, entitled Morton’s Hyperobjects and the Anthropocene. In the afternoon there are presentations of new commissioned works. Margrethe Pettersen (NO) created Living Land, a soundwalk that will take participants above and below ground in Kirkenes; Joris Strijbos (NL) constructed IsoScope, a major kinetic light and sound installation that interacts with its environment.
Saturday 28 November 2015
The third day of the journey also takes place in Murmansk, starting with a keynote lecture Material Evidence from Disputed Arctic Sunsets to Dark Snow by Susan Schuppli. This is followed by two performances of Murmansk Spaceport, a new work by Hilary Jeffery developed in collaboration with local musicians from Murmansk and Bodø.
Sunday 29 November 2015
On Sunday 29 November the programme starts off with an exploration of the couleur locale of Murmansk. In the afternoon and evening, the journey heads back to the Russian border zone, and HC Gilje will present a video installation at the stadium in Nikel and a light intervention in public space close to Zapolyarny.
Joris Strijbos - IsoScope
Joris Strijbos’ IsoScope is a kinetic sound-and-light installation. It consists of multiple robotic wind objects that interact with each other and with the landscape to perform a generative composition manifesting itself through emergent behaviour. Commissioned for the 2015 Dark Ecology Journey.
LYSN: Murmansk Spaceport - ЛИСН: Мурманский Космодром
Hilary Jeffery’s Murmansk Spaceport is an environment designed for exploring unknown territories. Musicians from Murmansk (RU) and Bodø (NO) in the Barents Region work together with Hilary Jeffery in a new formation of LYSN to perform Murmansk Spaceport. Commissioned for the 2015 Dark Ecology Journey.
Tatjana Gorbachewskaja - Nikel Materiality
The story of Nikel is that of a place that transformed the natural environment, seemingly no longer dependent on its geographical, geological or atmospheric attachments to the Earth. Nikel Materiality by Tatjana Gorbachewskaja, in collaboration with Katya Larina, seeks to explore Nikel through the prism of the unique material substances that this city has created. Commissioned for the 2015 Dark Ecology Journey.
Sonic Acts & EYE on Art: Weather Report
Following the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, on 15 December Sonic Acts and EYE on Art will host a Dark Ecology inspired evening on climate change. The programme explores the subject from the perspective of Dark Ecology. Included are works from EYE’s collection as well as contributions by artists who are part of the 2015 Dark Ecology Journey.
Starting Tomorrow: Dark Ecology Journey 2015
With just one day until we embark on the Dark Ecology Journey, participants are currently en route to the first stop: Kirkenes. Between 26 and 30 November participants will also visit Murmansk, Nikel and Zapolyarny, taking part in a programme that includes lectures and the presentation of new commissioned works in sub-zero temperatures.
Sonic Acts & Radio Web MACBA Podcast special on Dark Ecology
Before he left for the Dark Ecology Journey, which is currently underway, Arie Altena contributed to Radio Web MACBA’S fourth episode in the OBJECTHOOD podcast series. This episode is about what lies beneath the surface: where development clashes with strange hyperobjects such as poison, where geology meets politics, where horror meets daily life. Altena also talks about superstitions surrounding the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia.
Sonic Acts & Radio Web MACBA Podcast special on Dark Ecology
Before he left for the Dark Ecology Journey, Arie Altena contributed to Radio Web MACBA’S fourth episode in the OBJECTHOOD podcast series. This episode is about what lies beneath the surface: where development clashes with strange hyperobjects, where geology meets politics, where horror meets daily life. Altena talks about superstitions surrounding the Kola Superdeep Borehole in Russia.
Dark Ecology Journey: First Report
We are back home from a successful second Dark Ecology Journey. From 26 to 30 November we travelled with a group of more than 50 artists, researchers, curators, writers and organisers to Kirkenes in Northern Norway from where we took a bus to Murmansk in Russia, to Zapolyarny and Nikel, and back to Kirkenes. Here is an initial report of the journey, more will follow shortly.
Living Land - Below as Above
In dialog with Britt Kramvig and Margrethe Pettersen Living Land – Below as above, is a commission piece by Margrethe Pettersen for Dark Ecology and co-commissioned by Arctic Encounters. The soundwalk is performed outside Kirkenes, during the second journey of Dark Ecology.
Thursday 9 June 2016
On Thursday the journey starts with a lecture by Heather Davis on plastic geologies, followed by a programme of curated walks which explore different aspects of the Pasvik Valley: the pollution, the river, the brown bears, the archaeology, and the insect life. In the evening ::vtol:: presents his new installation Лесофон / Lesophon.
Cecilia Jonsson - Prospecting: A Geological Survey of Greys
Prospecting: a Geological Survey of Greys is an interdisciplinary, site-specific art project that appropriates the scientific geological methods of extracting, analysing and categorising mineral specimens. In doing so, the project addresses the distinctions between objective scientific methods and subjective influences.
Justin Bennett & HC Gilje - Mikro
Mikro is a series of improvised collaborative performances between HC Gilje (video) and Justin Bennett (sound) that draws its raw material from the immediate surroundings. On the last day of the Dark Ecology Journey, Bennett and Gilje will perform the latest version of Mikro using material gathered over the course of the Journey.
Journey 2016
The third edition of the art and research project Dark Ecology will take place from 8 to 12 June 2016. The journey begins in Svanvik in the Pasvik River Valley and travels from there to Nikel and Zapolyarny. Highlights in the programme include the curated walks that explore various aspects of the Pasvik Valley, lectures by Heather Davis and Timothy Morton, a visit to the Kola Superdeep Borehole – the setting for a new soundwalk by Justin Bennett – and new works by Cecilia Jonsson, Nickel van Duijvenboden, ::vtol::, Jana Winderen, Signe Lidén & Espen Sommer Eide, and HC Gilje & Justin Bennett.
Nickel van Duijvenboden - Echolocation (Session)
Echolocation (Session) is a new work by Nickel van Duijvenboden. Following his micro residency in Kirkenes, Nickel van Duijvenboden will give a performative reading inside a disused communal space belonging to the Kirkenes mine. Van Duijvenboden blends speech with sound recordings and live instruments in a loosely arranged setting, creating a parallel narrative based on a prior visualization of the location and a psycho-geographical exploration of the surroundings.
Sunday 12 June 2016
On Sunday 12 June we travel back to Kirkenes and to the site of Cecilia Jonsson’s new work Prospecting: A Geological Survey of Greys, the journey is accompanied by a new composition by Peter Meanwell. In the evening there is the performative lecture Echolocation (Session) by Nickel van Duijvenboden, and the improvised performance Mikro by HC Gilje and Justin Bennett.
Cecilia Jonsson - Prospecting: a Geological Survey of Greys
Sunday 12 June
15:00 - 16:30
Langøra
Prospecting: A Geological Survey of Greys appropriates geological methods of extracting, analysing and ordering mineral specimens. It attempts to examine drilled rock core samples beyond their commercial viability to identify the bedrock’s gray tones.
Justin Bennett & HC Gilje - Mikro
Sunday 12 June
19:00 - 20:00
Sydvaranger Industriområde
Mikro is a series of improvised performances using the immediate surroundings as raw material. HC Gilje (video) and Justin Bennett (sound) use materials they find on this Journey. The form of the performance comes from the interaction between players, the material, and the performance space.
Nickel van Duijvenboden - Echolocation (Session)
Sunday 12 June
17:00 - 18:00
Sydvaranger Industriområde
Echolocation (Session) is a new work by Nickel van Duijvenboden. Following his micro residency in Kirkenes, Nickel van Duijvenboden will give a performative reading inside a disused communal space belonging to the Kirkenes mine. The meeting point for the reading is the administration building of Sydvaranger Industrieområde at 17.00.
Dark Ecology Curated Walks
Thursday 9 June
13:30 - 17:00
NIBIO Svanhovd
The five guided walks on Thursday – occasionally using other means of transportation to reach more remote areas – explore different aspects of the Pasvik Valley: the pollution, the river, the brown bears, the archaeology, and the insects. Please note that the curated walks can only be attended by Dark Ecology Participants
Dark Ecology Video Diary: Day 2
Friday 10 June began with a lecture by Timothy Morton, who explained ‘dark ecology’. After this we crossed the border to Russia and traveled to Nikel. In the evening experienced Signe Lidén & Espen Sommer Eide’s new soundwalk Altitude & History, set in the hills above Nikel. Jana Winderen’s Pasvikdalen is on show until Sunday.
Signe Lidén and Espen Sommer Eide – Vertical Studies: Acoustic Shadows and Boundary Reflections
In Vertical Studies: Acoustic Shadows and Boundary Reflections, a collaborative work with Espen Sommer Eide, Eide and Lidén wish to invite the participants on a journey to a 46 meter high former water tower in Sint Jansklooster.
Justin Bennett – Vilgiskoddeoayvir: Wolf Lake on the Mountains
At 12 kilometres deep, the Kola Superdeep Borehole is one of the deepest man-made holes on Earth. The Borehole was a Soviet geology research project that started during the Cold War. Justin Bennett created a soundwalk for this abandoned site.
1 – 3 February, Murmansk
The audiovisual festival, Inversia, organised for the second time by the Dark Ecology partner Fridaymilk, is the first of its kind in the European Arctic. It represents a platform for researching the phenomenon of darkness, coldness and isolation, and it aims to bridge the gap between traditional culture and new media and DIY culture. Here, Living Earth will showcase works by BJ Nilsen, Justin Bennett, and the Vertical Cinema, with screenings of seven experimental films made for the vertical screen format. Living Earth will also offer two workshops; a Critical Writing Academy, and a Field Recording Lab.
8 February – 13 May, Oslo
SALT is a nomadic arts venue that launched in Sandhornøy in Northern Norway in 2014. In 2017, it opened at Oslo harbour, just opposite the Opera House in Bjørvika. Inspired by the traditional fish drying structures used on the Norwegian coast, SALT’s architecture points back to its original site: to the ocean and to the environmental concerns surrounding it. Living Earth will present seven Dark Ecology commissions at SALT, including both durational pieces occupying the SALT structures, as well as performances. This showcase will include works by BJ Nilsen, HC Gilje, Justin Bennett, Jana Winderen, Tatjana Gorbachewskaja & Katya Larina, Signe Lidén, and Cecilia Jonsson.