Field Observatory

Field Observatory is a temporary public art work situated by the pond of Hanhipuisto at the Kirjurinluoto park in Pori, Finland. The site serves as a gathering place where visitors can slow down to observe happenings of the growing season through the processes of the soil. While modelled by the artist from the starting point of a traditional barn, the measurements of the minimalist, dark-toned pavilion features elements reminiscent of a temple or a room of silence.

Inside the structure the audience meets a large-scale clay sculpture on which a generative, moving image animation is projected, as well as a soundscape created by three instruments – guitar, piano and clarinet. The installation serves as a window, as a portal into the volumes of the ground, creating perceptible events and processes taking place in the soil. Both the visual and the audio elements change in real time in response to soil measurements taken from a specific field that is undergoing a biological soil improvement cycle – creating connotations towards an underground weather station. The installation is programmed to modify the stream of images and sounds in synchrony with variations in the temperature and humidity as well as CO2 flux in the soil. Thus, the work changes with the bioactivity pulse of the field.

The underlying core concept of the work is the impact of plants in the biological regeneration of compacted soil. Its aesthetics are inspired by the root systems of alfalfa, tall fescue and white clover as well as other plants. The project is founded on a sustained dialogue that the artist has conducted with farmers as well as researchers committed to identifying and promoting carbon farming practices, soil improvement and regenerative food production methods. The data used in the work comes from sensor measurements made at the Finnish Meteorological Institute’s research farm in Qvidja where Teemu Lehmusruusu has worked since 2018.

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