Moss is one of the first terrestrial plants. It is a hyper plant species with superpowers. It demonstrates strong vitality in harsh conditions and extreme environments. It is a bio-indicator of air pollution, it functions as a carbon storage ‘tank’; and it contributes to biodiversity by harmoniously co-existing with other plant species and insects.
The kinetic sound sculpture is driven by live air quality data generated by AirKorea, the World Air Quality Index, and the Sensor Community platform. It is programmed to analyse the air quality of Korean and Global cities and reinterpret the data with breathing patterns, movements and evolving soundscapes. From Seoul to Berlin, Gwangju, and Beijing. The audience is able to experience in real-time the world's air quality transformed into a kinetic sound installation. The living sculpture is created with 10 representative moss species from Seonheul Gotjawal on Jeju Island to the DMZ.
The Exhibition includes a documentary film consisting of five interviews with korean bryologists, moss gardeners and one air quality researcher. The videos guide the visitors from Gotjawal to moss gardens and research institutes. It aims to communicate the ecological conditions and expressions of mosses. The film invites the audience to discover the potential of moss as an aesthetic medium that connects humans, other living agencies, and technology, and synesthetically reinterprets and transmits data on air pollution and climate change.
Through this collaboration, the MOSS-이끼 team consisting of Marco Barotti, Keumhwa Kim, and Jung-Hwa Kim draws on the artistic practice of "Staying with the Trouble", a survival guide on the Earth, written by the biologist, scientist, and feminist Donna J. Haraway. In the face of rapid environmental change, MOSS-이끼 highlights the symbiotic relationship between one of the planet’s oldest plants and data science, to explore solutions for a sustainable future.
Credits:
MOSS-이끼 is a project funded and produced by Zer01ne
MOSS-이끼 Kinetic Sound Sculpture
- Concept and Design: Marco Barotti
- Curator: Keumhwa Kim
- Research: Jung-Hwa Kim
- Technical Advisors: Woongtaek Park, Dr. Yongkyu Kim, Jonghyun Baek, LifePanel
- Software Programmer: Marco Accardi (Anecoica Studio)
- Construction Advisor: M.Arch Lorenzo Soldi
- Lighting Advisor: Hannes Sesemann
- Assistant: Cora Röschlein
- Moss Supply Cooperators: Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center of the National Institute of Forest Science, National Institute of Ecology, Biotope Gallery
- Data source: AirKorea, Sensor Community, World Air Quality Index
MOSS-이끼 Documentary Film
- Producers: Jung-Hwa Kim, Keumhwa Kim
- Director: Marco Barotti
- Writer: Jung-Hwa Kim
- Curator: Keumhwa Kim
- DoP: Swan Park
- Editors: Marco Barotti, Swan Park, Keumhwa Kim, Jung-Hwa Kim
- Sound Designer: Marco Barotti
- English Proofreading: Marie Frohling
- Interviewees:
- Dr. Chang Keun Song (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology)
- Dr. Eun-Young Yim (Research official, Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science)
- Dr. Seung Se Choi (Senior researcher, National Institute of Ecology)
- Bong Chan Kim (Gardener; CEO, The Garden)
- Woongtaek Park (Moss designer; craftsman; CEO, Biotope Gallery)