{"id":508,"date":"2020-08-31T11:19:30","date_gmt":"2020-08-31T09:19:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/soil-laboratory.aalto.fi\/?page_id=508"},"modified":"2020-11-27T15:33:48","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T13:33:48","slug":"critically-endangered-species","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/soil-laboratory.aalto.fi\/critically-endangered-species\/","title":{"rendered":"Critically Endangered Species"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Critically Endangered Species <\/em><\/strong>addresses soil as the living habitat of species that depend on its wellbeing. The project evolves during the Soil Matters exhibition as an artistic studio practice in the Soil Laboratory. The project follows the \u201cFinnish Red Book\u201d (The 2019 Red List of Finnish species), by the Finnish Environment Institute SYKE on the viability of species in 2019. The book presents 36,604 species, 22,416 of which were identified as currently threatened. Among these threatened species, 489 species have been listed as critically endangered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to The Red Book, the decreases of specific species are caused by the changes in their habitats. The species selected for the paintings, such as algae, mosses, vernacular plants, insects and lichens, are related in one way or another to land and land-use, such as construction or mining activities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 2019 Red List of Finnish species (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The concept of the project was developed in a group discussion led by ceramic artist Maarit M\u00e4kel\u00e4, together with ceramic artist Catharina Kajander and designer Tzuyu Chen in June 2020. Later in August, Maarit M\u00e4kel\u00e4 contributed to the making of the first prototype, which was painted with one of the critically endangered lichens named Acarospora oligospora<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The first prototype (unfired)<\/em> by Maarit M\u00e4kel\u00e4, which shows an abstract painting of the selected lichen species Acarospora oligospora<\/g>. Photo: Maarit M\u00e4kel\u00e4<\/em>

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Artist-in-residence in the Soil Laboratory<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From September 2020 until the 10th of January of 2021, the artists perform their studio practice in the Soil laboratory. During the residency period, large ceramic pots are built on-site by ceramic artist Catharina Kajander. She uses the traditional coiling technique to form large pots with red earthenware clay from Somero, sponsored\u00a0by Kultelan Tiiliputki in Finalnd. Later, the selected species from the critically endangered category are painted on the surface of large red clay pots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this project, the colours used for painting are processed from soil samples collected around Finland, most of which are obtained from the Soil Stories<\/em><\/a> project. The processing of the materials and the fired ceramic test pieces are performed by Tzuyu Chen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n