'By better understanding the natural growth and life of mosses in an urban environment, we also learned how important the surrounding microclimate and the moisture and protection that enable growth were for them as living beings. When our work got a place next to the historic linden alley on campus, we were really happy!' say Archer and Piispanen.
The outdoor artwork is made of 50 mm thick pine plywood. With the wind, moss spores fly over the work, gradually turning the work green with moss. Over time, the external form of the work changes again, as part of the decomposition of the parts of the work, merging with nature and the growth and withering of moss, algae and other growths.
Nature's schedule
Due to the choice of materials for the piece, Quantum Moss has an unusually short life cycle for a public artwork, which enables the natural diversity of the Otaniemi campus area to be increased in a sustainable way. With this, the work also brings the environmental costs of public art into the discussion.
'Nature often does not follow people's schedules. However, our work would be constantly changing, as the first microbes would probably move into it first from that day on, starting to finally build its parts visible to the human eye. In our opinion, this was exactly what the campus art competition was looking for: radical and sustainable creativity', the artists say.
Assisted in the design and implementation
moss: Tarja Marsh, curator (Plant Museum TUR)
pine plywood: UPM Finland
consulting and implementation of concrete installations and patination: Pertti Kukkonen
concrete installation consulting: Jouni Punkki (Aalto University)
technical drawings: Hongfei Bi and Eszter Nagu (Aalto University)
implementation: Milica Stefanović and Andrea Puscasu (Aalto University)
workshop masters: Janne Hirvonen, Jami Laakso and Hannu Paajanen (Aalto University)
art coordination: Outi Turpeinen (Aalto University)
The vision of public art at Aalto University
In 2017, Aalto University decided to comply with a one per cent art principle in its building projects. The campus art competition is the university’s fifth project, where approximately one per cent of a building project's allocation is allocated to art purchases. The one per cent art principle was first applied to the Radical Nature art concept in Aalto University’s main building, Dipoli.
The vision of public art at Aalto University is to address and raise questions about what it is to be a university, what we do together in society, and what constitutes the public. Public art is site-specific and connects with the diversity of the university and its post-disciplinary communities. Public artworks reflect this diversity through different art forms, materials, techniques and traditions.
More information
Outi Turpeinen, Senior Specialist, art and exhibitions
[email protected]
tel. 050 431 4194
Noora Archer, Kiedos.ART
[email protected]
Laura Piispanen, Kiedos.ART
[email protected]
