Presented in the In Search of the Present exhibition at EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art 27.08.2022–15.01.2023, curated by Arja Miller and Ingrid Orman, and including artists: Refik Anadol, Dora Budor, Sougwen Chung, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, Stephanie Dinkins, Agnieszka Kurant, Teemu Lehmusruusu, Brandon Lipchik, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Sondra Perry, Jaakko Pietiläinen, Anna Ridler, Raimo Saarinen, Jakob Kudsk Steensen, Jenna Sutela and Lu Yang.
Teemu Lehmusruusu uses his work to study the conditions necessary for the existence of ecosystems and food chains. In the installation Parent Matter, 3D-animations of soil generation are combined with natural materials formed by humans and geological forces. The work examines the invisible world of our planet’s soil, which enables life on Earth. Using artistic methods, Lehmusruusu makes visible that which usually remains hidden to our senses, such as the capacity of mycelia to effect change, the breathing of plants and the subtle processes of soil.
The piece challenges us to think about what we miss because of our limited senses and how this impacts our actions. The title refers to the geological term ‘parent material’, which means an internal source, such as bedrock and sedimentary rock, which determines the composition of soil. According to the artist, we should see soil as our parent and as the source of our nourishment.
EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art Collection.