Re-Wilding the system - Art Lab
Re-Wilding the System, is a brand new arts and ecology residency where four artists are given the opportunity to develop their skills and practice in Doncaster, along with experts in science, data, waterways and local culture. It was created and run by Doncaster Creates. As part of this the four artists take part in ‘Art Labs’ to see arts, science and tech demonstrations and explore using what they learn in their own practise.
After an inspiring and enriching walk with Mick Oliver at Hatfield Bog on Day 2 of the first art lab, the artists, arts professionals and science expert were ready for the next session of Art Lab. The day started with a settling in period of informal discussion where artists talked through ideas and started to feel at home.
Art Lab Day two - Walk with Mick Oliver on Hatfield Moor (photo Angela Robson)
Nature Hack Presentation
Simon Pickles from Nature Hack talked about the organisation background and demonstrated some of the tech they use.
Simon works with NEYEDC (North & East Yorkshire Ecological Data centre) and mentioned the growth of the centre through devolution in Doncaster. NEYEDC provide data management services to Non-profits, allowing them to collect data about species, sites and habitats from a variety of sources. The biodiversity crises has been driven by small decisions by local authorities, so a more specialist knowledge was called for, leading to Nature Hack.
Nature Hack grew from the fact that cool technology keeps getting stuck in academia and isn’t accessible outside of it. Nature Hack aims to break through these barriers and make tech more accessible to communities and organisations and now artists. They have sourced funding to clear up the reed beds at a Yorkshire based site and have polytunnels to propagate endangered water plants from across Yorkshire. Nature Hack do water quality work and find that collaboration builds from roadshows to develop solutions. They provide tech and increasingly data that is open source.
Simon asks the artists to interpret his demonstration, work and tech into what it means to them and how it can be relevant to their work. He has always been ‘Art curious’ but up to now hasn’t found a way to turn collaborations that are interesting into something impactful. Often when working with artists they have found impact is created by accident.
Tech Demo’s
In the demonstrations element of the presentation Simon presents four pieces of tech:
1. The Drone – NatureHack have found this to be the most useful in their work, in understanding the habitats it monitors. The drone is pre-programmed to fly roughly 45 minutes on a selected path. It’s quiet and doesn’t disturb nature. It can record in real time through its video camera and count individual flowers from its imagery, with an impressive 1 pixel imagery possible to focus on a complicated mosaic of plants at Doncaster Bog.
The images are created by extracting data from infra-red, it works by taking information from the light that shines back up to the drone, combining different frequencies of light. The possibilities of this tech are expansive through its ability to show how much photosynthesis is in an area, it can create a 3D model of images, show what is growing where, highlight vegetation texture and roughness and identify wetness and specific habitats to create a deeper connection with the landscape. What’s important is the systemic and structural links created by this technology rather than the aesthetic of the imagery. There are many layers of meaning created from the drone data.
2. Camera Traps. Camera Traps can create time lapses, can be triggered by movement and capture what is difficult to see in Nature. Sound can even be used to identify individual species. There was some excitement over this and how the tech could be used in artists work. The camera could be used to show the input of rain and flooding using aerial mapping.
3. Sound software. Kaledioscope light software was an example of a program that could be used. This software and similar versions allow recordings to be uploaded and the software then auto-identifies sounds, and learns from what has been input previously. By inputting identifiers to sounds uploaded, the software can even learn from these identities. There is potential to produce lists of species heard in one sound recording. An interesting question rose about whether biodiversity will do better with less human sounds? How can soundscapes be explored in artists work? Is it possible to explore regional accents and dialects of birds?
4. Moth Trap – Made up of a large bucket, some wires and an LED source it didn’t look like much but what it can do in terms of data capture is really exciting. Moths are a good identifier of habitats. An interesting project studying moths gave English names to the scientific names of moths. We looked at two moths, one described as a witch which was visible in its patterning and another showed the symbol for a letter of the Hebrew alphabet.
Art Lab Day 3 - Presentation and Demonstrations at Artbomb (photo Angela Robson)
Skills Share
Artists are encouraged to research artists who use tech and data to get more ideas about how this technology could be used. A mini library with books such as Macrolab and insights from local scientists, historians and members from DCRT (Doncaster Catchment River Trust) can be used as inspiration.
Throughout the session artists discussed what interested them. Bec Smith was curious about gathering data around electronics. Condartis in Liverpool are an example of this. Measuring the conductivity of plants was described as a tricky process, where the noise is difficult to make sense of. In what ways can the artists create meaning from the recordings, to delve deeper? There could be a possibility to do things on a chemical level which Simon has explored before. ‘The body language of trees’ is a source which describes the differential growth of trees. Where a tree grows impacts how it grows. Touch and sound create vibrations in plants which affect how they grow. This is known as Thigmomorphogenesis.
David Bramwell brought up the plant orchestra- where changes and resistance to plants create different sounds. ‘Our ears are no longer tuned to natural sounds.’
Caroline Sinders mentioned collaborating with Anna Ridler- a data collection artist and researcher. Brigitte Perenyi discussed plans for the next stage of her residenciy with ecology group Jack Daw, in Ethiopia and how this connects with what is happening in Doncaster’s sustainability network.
What’s next for the Art Labs?
The group discussed possibilities for a Practical lab of data collection, Moth Capture workshop, a boat trip on the River Don, a public event by a local expert on Fishlake, flooding and social conditions, future labs with coders, designers & tech artists, collaboration with the symbiosis group and artist led sessions could be explored in future labs.. So many opportunities for learning and development which could lead to included works in the ArtBomb Festival.
The day came to a close at Doncaster Engagement Network’s first event, a pay as you feel plant based meal with drumming workshops and good company. Artists could meet people from the local community, listen to their stories and share what they do. The perfect close to an enriching and explorative Art Lab.
Find out more at;
Rewilding the System Residency
ArtBomb Festival - 11th-14th August, Doncaster