Knowing, Acting, Caring: Julia Lohmann in conversation with Franziska Nori in the exhibition
03.11.2023, 18:00
Julia Lohmann is an artist and professor of contemporary design practices at Aalto University in Helsinki. For years, she has been researching the characteristics and living conditions of seaweed and kelp. Various disciplines in bioeconomics increasingly research algae and seaweed today. The approaches to dealing with seaweed are promising, but sustainability largely depends on careful use during harvesting, processing and utilization.
Lohmann follows the idea of “Knowing, Acting, and Caring,” which she has worked out structurally in graphic models of the linked relationships between humans and nature. The artist represents an approach in which Cartesian dualism is overcome, and the element that binds humans and non-human beings is acknowledged. The focus here is on understanding the complex, mutual relationships of beings, all of which are part of an interdependent overall system.
Growing awareness suggests that a fundamental change in human attitudes toward our fellow beings and resources is needed. For Julia Lohmann, working with seaweed symbolizes a non-exploitative approach to nature. Her works thus create spaces for thought that can inspire concrete actions and attitudes in various disciplines.
Read more about her works in the exhibition Bending the Curve here.
For participation in the public talk, there is a contribution towards expenses of 5 € plus admission to the exhibition. Registration is not necessary.
Please note that the event will take place in German.
Julia Lohmann (*1977, Hildesheim, DE) is a German artist who questions ethical and material value systems that influence our relationship with non-human beings. She currently holds the position of Professor of Practice in the Department of Arts, Design & Architecture at Aalto University in Helsinki (FI), where she lives and works. Prior to this, she was a professor at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste in Hamburg (DE), a Project Associate Professor at the Kyoto Institute of Technology (JP), and taught at numerous art schools in the UK, Europe, and Asia. She earned her PhD at the Royal College of Art, London (GB) with her project “The Department of Seaweed – Co-speculative Design in a Museum Residency,” which she realized at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (GB) in 2013. She leads and is a member of various research consortia and has received numerous awards for her work and research. Her works are part of prestigious public and private collections and have been exhibited in institutions such as the 23rd Biennale of Sydney (AU), the MIT Museum in Cambridge (US), the Museum of Modern Art in New York (US), the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York (US), the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein (DE), the Centre Pompidou in Metz (FR), MAK Wien (AT), the Triennale di Milano (IT), as well as at the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven (NL) and the World Economic Forum in Davos (CH). She is also the editor of numerous academic publications and has given many lectures.
