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Art and Science in Symbiosis
Learn more about the role of art in communicating the climate crisis as well as the research and the artistic and scientific methods behind the creation of the exhibition “Being Coral” when video artist Maja and postdoc from Marine Biology Section at University of Copenhagen, Elena Bollati, visit the tower for a talk.
The exhibition “Being Coral” is an audiovisual installation deeply rooted in scientific research on corals and their response to global warming.
The video recordings in the exhibition were created in close collaboration with coral researchers from the University of Copenhagen. Learn more about the intersection of Art and Science as well as the research and methods behind the exhibition in this talk between the artist and the lead researcher on the project. Together, they will provide insights into the interdisciplinary collaboration behind the coral footage for the exhibition, and discuss how the collaboration between Art and Science can open up new insights and understandings.
Note: The talk will be held in English.
Both video clips from the exhibition and behind-the-scenes images will be shown.
Admission to the exhibition and the Round Tower is included in the ticket price.
About the Exhibition
Documentary filmmaker and video artist Maja is behind the exhibition that explores the impact of climate change on the planet’s corals through research-based art.
In collaboration with a team of coral researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Friis has made macro-optic recordings of selected tropical coral species. The video portraits allow the audience to experience these tiny creatures on a large scale and in a uniquely intimate way.
“Art has the potential to communicate the state of nature with unfiltered seriousness and through a sensory language that can touch us on a deeper, existential level. By translating scientific data into aesthetic experiences, I hope to contribute to new insights that can sensitize our climate awareness and bring us closer to understanding the life forms we share the world with and the irreversible changes they are subjected to,” says Maja Friis.
The collaboration on the recordings also proved fruitful for the researchers, as the video recordings provided them with the ability to visualize coral bleaching with tools that are not typically available in their laboratory:
“In 10 years of working with corals, I have measured this phenomenon countless times, but I have always looked at it indirectly, through signals, numbers, graphs. But now, for the first time, I felt like I could truly witness coral bleaching. The method allowed me to notice movement patterns that my previous approaches had overlooked,” says Elena Bollati, postdoc at the Marine Biology Section, University of Copenhagen.
The curators behind "Generation WHY": Marcia Harvey Isaksson, Vidar Koksvik and Charlotte Jul.
Seminar: Generation WHY
Gender as a concept and a sign of the times is the focal point of this seminar, in which a group of Nordic curators, artists and designers provide insights into their practice and a sneak peek into the exhibition “Generation WHY”.
How do Nordic designers and artists engage with gender themes? In connection with the exhibition, where a generation of Scandinavian designers addresses weighty and existential themes, we invite you to a seminar with the exhibition curators and a selection of participating artists.
Gain deeper understanding of the artists and their works in the exhibition, and experience the exhibition before it opens to the public at 14.30 on the same day.
Program
10.00
Croissant and coffee/tea
Kl. 10.15
Welcome by Charlotte Jul and introductory talk.
Kl. 10.45
Presentation by curators Charlotte Jul (Denmark), Vidar Koksvik (Norway) and Marcia Harvey Isaksson (Sweden)
Short break
Kl. 11.10
Talk by Villvin Kunsthåndverkmarked about the background for the exhibition and the importance of focusing on the younger generation of Scandinavian artists and designers.
Short break
11.45
Artist talk with Ina Vang (Norway)
12.10
Lunch
12.45
Artist talk with Stine Bidstrup (Denmark)
13.15
Artist talk with Matilda Kästel (Sweden)
13.45
Panel discussion with Matilda Kästel, Ina Vang, Stine Bidstrup, Villvin and the curators
14.30
Networking, exhibition visit
Moderator: Charlotte Jul
Seminar, croissant, coffee/tea and a sandwich for lunch are included in the ticket.
About the exhibition
A generation of Scandinavian voices is expressed in the traveling exhibition “Generation WHY,” where chosen Nordic designers and artists from Generation Y (born between 1977 and 1994) focus on various aspects of existence.
Three curators from each Nordic country have selected a group of craftspeople and designers from a generation of creators who have significant themes on their agenda and take life, their practices, and the world seriously and personally. The selected artists from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland convey emotions, experiences, and perspectives through powerful, poignant works.
The exhibition was initiated by the association behind the Norwegian Villvin Crafts Market in connection with the 300th anniversary of Risør city in 2023, and is curated by Charlotte Jul, Marcia Harvey Isaksson og Vidar Koksvik.
The exibition is supported by:
Augustinus Fonden
Statens Kunstfond
Knud Højgaards Fond
Ellen og Knud Dalhoff Larsens Fond
Konsul George Jorck og hustru Emma Jorck’s Fond
Aage og Johanne Louis-Hansens Fond
Lecture by Michelle Hanlon
“Protecting Human Heritage in the Cradle of Our Spacefaring Civilization” (in English)
Lecture Tuesday 29 October 2019 at 19:00 by Michelle Hanlon on the occasion of Space Days and the exhibition “Around the Moon”
The World Heritage Convention protects our human heritage here on Earth. There are many World Heritage sites in Denmark, including the Jelling Mounds, Runic Stones and Church – reminders of the Vikings who perfectly illustrate the exploratory character and incredible perseverance of the human species.
These sites are recognized for their outstanding value not just to Denmark, but to all humanity and consequently preserved and protected for posterity by the United Nations and the international community as part of our common human heritage. They capture momentous events in our shared human history and celebrate remarkable achievements in our evolution. We as a human species share these achievements, just as we share ancestors who discovered fire, who figured out how to domesticate animals, and who decided to reach for the Moon.
But sites on the Moon, including Luna 2, the first human object ever to reach another celestial body, and Apollo 11, the site where humans left the first off-Earth footprint, do not enjoy any protection. Or even any recognition. The lecture will debate the possible aim to change that.
