Working title: Luonnonmuistomerkki / Nature Memorial -installation

I will do an Nature Memorial installation. One part of the work is going to concentrate on nature in laboratory. Another part is going to be done with help of the youth in Suvela youth center. I will ask  the teenagers about their relationship with nature. Do they think that they are part of the nature, do they feel they are above the nature? I will inquire this with a box where they can give answers anonymously. The youth can also be part of the installation by taking pictures of their own Natural Monuments and they can upload the images to the Nature memories (Luontomuistoja) flickr-page. I will do a Nature Memorial label that can be as a sign for the Natural Monument.

The piece is to comment on the relationship between man and nature. I want to question the need of reminding the nature with a memorial.

Questions

Is nature just a memory in the future? How nature could be remembered? Do we exist without nature? Is humans separate from nature? Can a 160-year old oak tell us something about us? Are rare species such as the purohyrrä, seittivahakas and turvetorvijäkälä important forms of life? Does it matter if they become extinct?

Will nature grow in the laboratory in the future?

In the Nature Laboratory -time-lapse image, I will do experiments with Common Soapwort seeds, birch branches. I will breed seeds in test tubes. I will prepare the breeding ground from agar powder and a multivitamin. I mix different substrates in six different nutritional supplements, namely: iron tablet, birthcontrol pill, apple cider vinegar + chrome -product, antihistamine tablets, Panacod pain reliever pill and evening primrose + E dietary supplement product. I will follow the growth of seeds by taking pictures regularly. I will post the events in a Nature Memorial-blog and a flickr site, these are going to be written in Finnish.

By Johanna Rotko