Married to the Lab. Tying the Knot of Art and Science

30 ECTS thesis approved in partial fulfillment of a double Nordic Master MSc degree in environmental changes at higher latitudes (EnCHiL), from University of Helsinki and Agricultural University of Iceland.The aim of this thesis is to tie the knot of art and science, searching for ways to explain and explore complex atmospheric phenomena through art. Primary methods of research are poetry, video and performance art practice. The results of this thesis are five video performance art works as well as five related poems: Listening Again, Coffee Filter, Repetition, Reflection and Snow Angel created in Iceland and Finland from August 2021 until April 2022, focused on atmospheric science. The results are divided into six sections, addressing six aspects of the traditional scientific method to explain my art works. At the same time, I ask the reader to think about the scientific methods in a different way and how can they be expanded? I connect Listening Again to hypothesis, Coffee Filter is related to field work, Repetition is about laboratory work, Reflection about data analysis and Snow Angel about interpreting the results. Finally I compile how the art works were presented at the IBA-Permafrost Snow Seminar, April 1st 2022 at the Finnish Meteorological Institute as the exhibition “Particles of Sensing”. The performances are all influenced by science in addition to their connection to scientific methods. Listening Again is sparked by mineral dust research in Iceland. Coffee Filter is derived from research of Saharan Dust in Finland and the coffee filter sampling method. Repetition deals with dedication to the laboratory, invigorated by transmittance research of black carbon and Reflection spurs from ice nucleation research. Snow Angel was an emotional life performance, a farewell ceremony of the changing cryosphere. Rather than using my art to explain the science, as in scientific communication, the artworks in this artistic research are on one hand inspired by the scientific research and methods and on the other hand they approach atmospheric science with different research questions, with different methods, gaining different results. The artistic background of this thesis will be written through chosen works by several relevant artists. I will dive into the research and repetitional element in my works and compare them to works by Anna Líndal’s, explain the use of the wedding gown as a symbol in the works by Zaituna Kala and Kong Ning and discuss performance and devotion in works by artist Marina Abromović. Furthermore, the thesis as a whole can be thought of as an art piece: a hypothetical marriage contract or manifesto of my commitment and devotion to the lab. This is a journey of becoming completely devoted to what you love, using the phrase “being married to the lab” from various angles, as an inspiration I play on and think about both during the creation of the art works and thesis. Future prospects for this artistic research is to continue exploring atmospheric science through art, expanding it in more arctic countries and contexts and exhibiting to a wider audience. So far I have created two new works and direct products of this thesis. A love relationship with Science was shown at the Arctic Festival, Iðnó Reykjavík, 17/09/22. I created the video performance Red Thread in Greenland in August 2022, a tribute to the effects of the changing ocean and oceanic folk stories. Red thread will be presented alongside the works in this thesis at the Oodi public library, Helsinki on the 7th-9th of October, 2022. Who knows where this research will take me after that