Contemporary Design

The Uncrowned Queen of the Enclosed Evening Sea

by Janne Melajoki
An installation of 'algae crowns' in the Baltic Sea

The project was a study of humanising one of the most important plants in the marine ecosystem of the Baltic Sea, the bladderwrack. In the project I explored a way to interfere sustainably and politely in nature's life cycle through three themes:

  • Natural structure
  • Lifecycle & Decay
  • Temporariness
An image composed of three different algae images and accompanying text : 'Natural Structure', 'Lifecycle & Decay, 'Temporarines

Show me what you’re made of?

”Will it float after dired, and if so for how long?” + algae grinded down in a pestle and mortar + image of an algae in a bowl

Process and prototypes

Sketches of algae arranged in a circle
A sketch on white paper - algae circles in the sea
”Handpicked & less material” + images of algae
”Randomly chosen & more material” - a prototype made of algae
An algae crown floating in the Baltic Sea
The algae crown sinks after it has been in the ocean for some time

I looked into how bladderwrack could be mould into a structure that is light enough to float utilising the bladders as lifting force, but heavy enough for it to disappear in a certain time. For it to return to its marine environment. How could I use bladderwrack in a sustainable way to make a temporary art installation?

Outcomes

A text describing the journey of creating this project. Finished with ”what the hell am I doing?”
Algae stacked and transported in a diy cardboard tower - from a beach to a sauna
An image with text: The story: Act 1 With the wind, Act 2 Finding by making, Act 3 Sea calls

My end result became a narrative of how we sometimes aim to pursue towards a certain goal that we forget to enjoy the ride. My aim was to make a temporary art installation inspired by the work of 60's and 70's Land artists. Taking the same footsteps as the land artists when questioning where does design or art belong and how do we experience it? The loveliest outcome of this course was enjoying letting go from my early vision to failure, and accepting the feeling.

The process gave a lot of insights which I summarised in four key learnings when working and crafting in and with nature.

Learnings

A cobweb-like algae mass + text: ”I should be the one adapting to natures lifecycle. Not the other way around”
The sea and a large rock surface + ”Life does not follow man-made schedules or timetables. Embrace the entropy and let go of the need for control.”
A rock in the sea + ”Notice what you observe. What, why, when and how things happen naturally”
The sea + ”Follow your excitement. After that comes the interests”

Then what would be the proper way to approach?

An iterated site-specific version of the project could be, where time and space aspects are considered better. When the time of the year will be more suitable to harness and utilise the natural methods of drying materials - The sun and the warm rocky shores of the archipelago. Another take on experiencing and thriving in the moment.

An illustration of the project process in connection with the sun

Reflections

As much as the project was observing and mimicking nature phenomenons, what, why, when and how everything happens, and when there is room for man made intervention, it was a self exploration in the field of design, art, crafts and interconnectedness. Embracing entropy, giving up visions, loving failures and how nature should be seen merely as a resource for borrowing. Not something to be controlled.

  • Published:
  • Updated: