Finnish Island Planting

Finland Week Three:

The Biomatrix Islands are are primarily an ecological art project. We are aiming for a balance between man and nature, aesthetics and functionality. As an art project it might appear disappointing if the Islands was indistinguishable from the landscape, but we also want them to blend in gracefully with the natural surroundings. One way of highlighting the special beauty of this manmade island will be with the plants. The plants that currently grow around the lake are bull rushes and phragmites. We will include twenty different native species, many of which are flowering.

The planting process is cold and wet. It is essential that the plants have their roots in the water. We have filled the triangle shapes within the hexagons with flax linen and we are planting into this lightweight natural material. The leaves of the plants will die over the winter but the roots should take hold and new shoots will appear in the spring.

It is essential not to disturb the birds as they come to nest on the islands and therefore the planting needs to occur in the Fall.

Birds and Bolts

Finland Week Two:

Noisy flocks of geese fly low over the lake as we bolt the pipes together, creating the Biomatrix. The weather has been clear and cold and the students are becoming more fluent with the construction process and with English. The black hexagons are striking in the light as the islands take shape; I am beginning to get a sense of the final outcome. There are two levels of height to the big island, which we are creating using large pipes underneath the matrix. We are attaching these pipes using rope and stainless steel strapping. The extra buoyancy of the large pipes will support the gravel and rocks while the regular matrix will be planted with wetland plants. The height difference will make the islands appear more natural.

I have been filming the connection of the hexagons to form the Biomatrix and I would like to create a short video piece in which the process is speeded up so that it is possible to see the island take shape in one minute.