Curated Expeditions
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The Moon Goose Experiment in Transmediale 2010
Video screening of Agnes Meyer-Brandis experiments on the Siberian Moon Geese will be presented in the programme of Transmediale Festival from 2nd until 7th February 2010 in Berlin. The artist herself will take part of the panel conversation “Destination Moon” on 6th February in between of Wang Yuyang and Pavel Medvedev. The panel is moderated by Arts Catalyst curator Rob La Frenais.
The recent discovery of water on the moon has refocused society’s imagination on our nearest celestial neighbour. The title of the panel refers to the seminal 1958 novel Destination Moon by Robert Heinlein, which helped develop the popular mythology of the Moon.
The Moon Goose Experiment
What I felt: euphoria. Waiting for a miracle.
On 1st August, 2008, Mireia C. Saladrigues invited 100 visitors to observe 5 species of animals – white-handed gibbon, icebear, marten, owl and liger – in the Zoo of Novosibirsk. The moment was special – the moon was going to eclipse the sun during a hot Siperian summer day. Here are the 85 of the observations of the participants, written on Zoolar Eclipse postcards and returned after the eclipse.
The drawnings and texts written by artist have been compilated into a binded book, available here. The book and the drawnings were exhibited for the first time in Kiasma Mediatheque during the spring 2009.
Mireia C. Saladrigues in Kiasma Mediatheque, Helsinki.
Zoolar Eclipse will be exhibited in EspaiDos, Sala Municunill in Terrassa, Spain, from 12th novembre until 13th december, 2009. It forms part of a series of exhibitions under the theme Kairós, Moments of clarity.
New destinies for Expedition to the Total Eclipse -show?
After nice finissage happening in Kiasma and URSA observatory, the summer has been quite silent for the Eclipse related expedition activities. The show in Kiasma Mediatheque closed after 3 months in the beginning of June and the works are now being stored for the new show. The estimation of the visitors for the show is 7000, and the eclipse happening had some 25 participants. Thank you for the public and for all the collaborators and supporters!
Capsula´s second expedition is being prepared during the summer months and will be announced as an open call in the next days. This time the expeditioners will be chosen through an open call for artists in Finland and Estonia, and will be part of Finnish Turku, the European Capital of Culture 2011 -activities. More about the open call and the subject of the next expedition within the next days in www.capsula.org.es
Parallely the second expedition preparations, the Eclipse show is looking for a new venues to be exhibited, if you / your institution are interested, please contact with Capsula! Also talks by curator and the artists about the experience and results can be organized within festivals, seminars and other events. Small portfolio about the exhibition.
Back home 080808
On the magic date 080808 Agnes, MIreia and Ulla finished their Expedition to Siberia and landed in Cologne, Barcelona and Pori. The end of our journey coincided with two significant international news – the Olympic Games in Peking started and Russia attacked to Georgia and these two countries entered into war. The fourth member or the Expedition is still on his Journey to the Eclipse, -Tommi is starting his way back to Finland in the next days from Altai Mountains. Good luck for his trip!
The Expedition has been really succesful and after some days of reflections and resting, I will start sharing our impressions and experiences through this web blog. So, I have to ask for some patience and new posts with photos from the journey will be available very soon.
Our work in Novosibirsk could be carried out with the help of very reliable and hard-working local assistants. Our best thanks for all of you, we hope our collaboration has been for you as meaningful and rich that for us!
Thank you for our collaborators and supporters
The expedition of Mireia, Agnes and Ulla is about to begin from Helsinki railwaystation. Mireia did already fly from Barcelona to Helsinki, and Agnes and Ulla will join her tomorrow, Ulla by train from Pori and Agnes from Cologne. I have received several messages from Tommi from his way, that did start by bicycle and now continues hitch-hiking. He has passed by Vologoda, NIkolsky, Kotlas and River Ob and the last news was that he was heading towards the tundra…
It is a good moment to thank all the supporters who has made possible the good start for this first Curated Expedition. The Novosibirsk Zoo and it´s directors, Rostislaw and Olga Shilo that at first hand were ready for the collaboration and has invited us to stay in the Zoo for 10 days. Also special thanks for Mrs. Natalia and Mrs. Sveta that has helped us to get the visas and have answered to our questions about the Zoo activity.
Agnes´work and trip to Novosibirsk has received a special support from
General Consulate of the Federal Republic of Germany in Novosibirsk.
The postproduction of her Moon Goose Experiment will receive a very important support from HMKV Dortmund, a grant that enables working on the piece during six month´s time period. Also AirBerlin gives their support for her work.
The Institute of Russia and Eastern Europe in Helsinki and Mrs. Anneli Ojala reveives a special thanks from the whole expedition group. Her expertise in Russia and kind help in linguistic issues has been very valuable.
Clara and Andrea from A Minima magazine not only have encouraged me in the project, but they also have given me the possibility to publish in the magazine. The general explination of the project has been published in the last issue of A Minima and in the end of the year a larger and more exhaustive text with explorers pictures and comments will be published
Mrs. Tuuli Hakulinen from Kymi Travel in St.Petersburg very patiently helped me in making the reservations in the Russian trains that, during the summer and holiday season are really full. The mass movement that the total solar eclipse causes in Russia, was also one of the reasons for the fact that the tickets were quite difficult to be purchased. But she managed to do it!
In Moscow, 23rd of July we will have the chance to meet Mrs. Kerstin Kronvall from
Finnish Embassy in Moscow and in Ekaterinburg NCCA Ekaterinburg
will kindly offer us a place to sleep.
Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki and The Sabater Pi Collection in Barcelona and their directors Seppo Turunen and Jordi Sabater Pi had been very helpful and advised Mireia in her work, and University of Art and Design / Pori Department kindly printed the posters for the Zoolar Eclipse.
We also received support from: VR (Finnish Railways) Kilpisjärvi Biological Station, SAS Royal Hotel (Helsinki), Sodexo Oy / Hostel Satakuntatalo (Helsinki), Antares Ltd (Barcelona) and Garcia de Pou ( Barcelona).
Carles Schnabel from Sabadell Astronomic Group from Barcelona, will let us the material that he and his collegues will record in Novosibirsk, as a part of IOTA (International Ocultation Timing Association) Research in Novosibirsk eclipse zone. Hope to meet these astronomers in Novosibirsk!
Beside the institutional support we would like to thank our families and nearest persons and the individuals in Russia, Germany, Spain and Finland, as Roman, Marina and Artem – we´ll see each others very soon!
Once the Expedition has finished, our work will continue, the works of the three artists will be postproduced and the exhibition and other formats of presentations will be prepared. I hope new institutions and companies will join the list of official supporters and also make new expeditions reality.
The “Zoolar Eclipse” by Mireia
The postcard by Mireia C. Saladrigues
Mireia is finalising the contents of Zoolar Kit in Barcelona and the postcards and posters are almost finished to be printed out before the actual journey, that is about to begin on 22nd July at 18.23 pm from Helsinkin Railway Station. The selection of the animals that she wants to pay special attention in the Novosibirsk Zoo during the eclipse consists of the following species:
White Handed Gibbon, Polar Bear, Indian Marten, Liger (the hybrid of the Bengalensis Tiger female and the African Lion male), Eurasian Eagle Owl and Great Bustard. The artist encourages the people not only write about their observations but also draw their experience about the animal behaviour when the light of the sun suddenly disappears. The selection is based to the artist´s own preferences and to the valuable information given by the director of Korkeasaari Zoo in Helsinki, Seppo Turunen and Dr. Jordi Sabater Pi, ethologist and anthropologist in Barcelona. Mireia did interview personally these specialists in Helsinki and Barcelona to define the selection that in Novosibirsk is going to be observed by one hundred visitors of the Zoo.
The study in wild animal behaviour during the total solar eclipse, made in Zimbabwe Mana Pools Natural Park in 21st June, 2001 has also been very useful for Mireia´s “test-animal” selection. Paul Murdin, English astronomer, author, broadcaster and astronomy consultant has written very interesting article about this study, put together of the notes of 250 volunteers that observed Park´s animals during the whole day of the eclipse. The cousin of Paul Murdin and former president of WEZ (Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe, Shirley Cormack, is the person behind this initiative, that was the first systematic study of its kind.
Visit to Geese Farm in Germany
Agnes chasing geese in Germany
Most of the preparative work that is able to do in distance, has been carried out for the three works, but we are still missing proper geese farm for Agnes´Moon Goose Experiment. We have been offered all kind of birds from chicken to ducks, but where are the real geese growing in Siberia?
During her research she found out that a goose recognizes the animal or the person who takes care of it during the first two weeks of it´s life, so also an human can be a “mum” of a goose. If we did know about how complicated it can get to find geese in Siberia, Agnes could have raised some of her own and travelled with her own goose family to Novosibirsk. Now it is too late, and we can only hope that we are lucky enough to find the ones for Agnes bio-poetic investigation.
Agnes takes measurements for the goose harness
Tommi´s Expedition is about to begin
On 3rd July I took to first big step towards to the North. I left hot and sweaty Barcelona and arrived to Tampere in Finland. There I met Tommi Taipale, and participated in recicled and recovered bicycle workshop on the courtyard of Annikinkatu wooden quarter, nearly 100 years old historical neighbourhood where Taipale lives. The bicycles were meant for the first stage of the “Journey to the Eclipse” of the photographer, escorted by three other “slow travellers”, Selja Eskonen, Siiri Anttila and Heikki Tuorila.
Tommi Taipale is preparing recovered bicycles for the Journey to the Eclipse
The travel plan of the group was to accompany Tommi until Ääninen lake in Russia by bicycle and then, Taipale would continue his trip by his own, mostly hitchiking towards to Siberia. His arrival date there is not known in beforehand, but ideally he will arrive around 27th of July to be able to take part in the rest of the expeditioner´s last preparations for the eclipse.
Some cheerful neighbours from Russia brightened up the cool and fresh summer night – Russian songs sang by Slava, Potsha and Ukbar who were cooking some gulash in the same courtyard, creating a perfect athmosphere for the workshop and for our expedition preparations.
First official invitation arrived!
On Thursday, 27th June Agnes received, as a first member of the expedition, her official invitation from Novosibirsk. This invitation is formulated by the Zoo of Novosibirsk and confirmed by Russian Interior Ministry, so, it is very important paper! With that document all the expeditioners are going to applicate the visa from the Russian Embassies in Germany, Spain and Finland, and, after almost three month´s paperwork, the whole adventure seems to be near to happen. The train tickets are almost fixed as well, and now it seems that our final route will be: Helsinki-Moscow-Novosibirsk and return: Novosibirsk Ekaterinburg-St.Petersburg-Helsinki.
To buy a ticket in Platsekarte – wagon in Russia needs patience and good contacts – or a lot of money. In our case there is not lot of money, so it meant that without Tuuli Hakulinen in St. Petersburg Kymi Travel, to buy the “low-cost” train tickets would have been impossible. To purchase a ticket, someone has to go the the station and wait in a line 2-3 hours and if the ticket you want to buy is not available, an alternative plan has to be done very quick. And the difference in between of different wagons is big – if a Platsekarte -wagon costs 100 euros, the same ticket for a Cupé -wagon (the next price group) costs 300 hundred!
In the article of European Bank it says the following:
Just over 15 years ago, the skies above the Soviet Union were full of passengers – more than 130 million each year – flying across 11 time zones in what amounted to the largest country in the world. Today, fewer than 20 million people fly across those 11 time zones in what is now the Russian Federation. With average monthly wages of $400, flying is not an option for much of the population.
Notes before the first expedition – meeting with Dr. Sabater Pi
From now on I will try to find time and keep you updated on the important things happening in these last weeks before the first Curated Expedition to Novosibirsk. Yesterday I had an opportunity to know in person Dr. Sabater Pi, famous catalan ethologist and antropologist, that passed almost 30 years in Africa studing primates, amphibians and birds in their natural habitat. In spite of his advanced age,( born in 1922) this scientist is still working, giving conferences and interviews. The meeting happened in Documentation Centre that carries his name.
I have used one of the phrases of Dr. Sabater Pí as a motto of Expedition project – he says in catalan: “observar – dibuixar – conèixer – estimar – protegir ” that in english stands: “observe – draw . know – love – protect”. In the Documentation Centre you can find a rich collection of drawings, watercolours and sketches, realized mostly in Africa, Spain, and a library on topics related to ethology, primatology and anthropology, and ethnological objects of Africa.
Dr. Sabater Pí listened amused to my explination of our plans once in Novosibirsk Zoo – and promised his support for the project. Mireia Saladrigues will visit the centre next week to study closer some issues for her work Zoolar Eclipse, and also interview Dr. before the big journey. He experienced a total solar eclipse some 50 years ago in Equatorial Guinea, great drop of the temperature and the strange light effect.
