HIPPOLYTE STUDIO
Kalevankatu 18 B, 00100 Helsinki
+358 9 612 33 44, www.hippolyte.fi
Open: Tue–Fri 12-17, Sat–Sun 12-167–30 October 2011
ANTTI SORVA
HumAnt Studies
Poster Presentation by The Task Force Group of Research AntsEven ants – a group of animals comparable to humanity in terms of their social behaviour – are concerned over mankind’s indifference towards the environment. The ants have therefore set up a scientific task force to observe mankind and its culture. Their aim: to establish a starting point for further research which would make use of ants’ swarm intelligence in an effort to try to understand humanity and its herd behaviour.
In contemporary art discourse, artworks are often regarded as ‘investigations’; after all, art and science share the same goal, discovering things. It is sometimes just as difficult for the two disciplines as it is for ants to try to understand humanity’s irrational treatment of our planet. Ants therefore decided to seek help from an ‘investigative’ artist photographer.
The pilot study culminates in observations of nuclear plant emissions and an imagined apocalyptic version of the Forum Romanum rediscovered in archaeological excavations. The results are reported in a manner familiar from scientific conferences: posters. And as is often the case with important research, this study too ends with the remark:“Further research is urgently needed.”
Antti Sorva is a self-taught artist. In recent years, he has mostly worked with photography, creating works in which man-made objects acquire metaphoric meanings when recontextualised with nature. Two examples of this strategy are Soul in Blue, for which Sorva received a nomination for the Fotofinlandia Prize in 2008, and Stories of Homecoming, a more direct commentary on human nature which is shortlisted for the Fotofinlandia Prize this year.
More information and press images:
Hippolyte Studio / Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, +358 9 612 33 44, info@hippolyte.fi
[image: Antti Sorva -- Forum Formicarum , 2008]
