ALIENS, community art in the Salo River and on
the walkover near Salo marketplace, 2008 

Environmental art piece Strangers is floating on the sea and climbing up the board of Floating School boat in Kokkila harbour, Halikko. Artists will bind rush in forms, which in bigger scale refer to the microbes of the water area. During the Green Art exhibition microbes will increase and the piece will be completed in workshops of Floating School.

Strangers introduce the world of microbes through aesthetic forms. At the same time it comments changes arising from global warming and pollution of water.

The research and news about changes caused by warming waters and pollutions and also the ”colonists” which travel from totally other kinds of sea conditions attached on bottom of the liners have provoke artists thoughts. In Strangers concern of permanent changes and disappearence of species is mixed with aesthetics of rush material and microbe forms.

The piece consist of bound forms of rush which are aesthetically based on microbes living in Halikonlahti sea. They float and attach to Floating School boat in Kokkila harbour. Part of the forms climb up the board of the boat. The shared journey of the boat and microbes is represented in bigger scale and thereby a bit humorously. During Green Art –happening microbes will increase around the boat and they might find accidental substrates also in other Green Art exhibition places. In connection to Floating School and in cooperation with Lauri secondary school the artists will arrange three workshops, where students and families are able to design and create rush microbes which will be attached to the piece.