Royal College of Art
2023 - 2024
This proposal brings together a collection of active spaces, fluid follies, as a way to re-establish lost rituals on the island of Gotland in Sweden, taken away by domineering algae blooms in the Baltic Sea.
Continuing to develop from previous research in term one, I delved deeper into ecologies that thrive on, what we refer to as, toxicity, altering the dynamics of ecosystems. This then drew my attention to the Baltic Sea where algae blooms multiply, creating an area known as the world’s largest dead zone.
Dotted around Gotland Island are historic Fishing Stations that were originally used by farmers twice a year when they lent their hand to fishing. As fish populations declined, because of hypoxia and overfishing, by the 19th century fishing stations were no longer used for their original purpose and have now become tourist attractions and B&B’s. This has had subsequent effects on the rituals of people on the island. From rituals of travel and gathering to the intimate of tying rope and preparing to bathe. The water body has shifted human actions and building use.
Developed from this research, my proposal aims to re-establish both this lost ritual of life at the fishing stations, moving to and from land and sea, and propose new rituals that can harness a renewed love for the ever-evolving sea. Seven follies will act as catalysts for these rituals, bearing closeness to the futhark alphabet. Through interaction with the sea they will become activated at varied moments of the algae bloom cycle. By utilising the developing process of algae harvesting for bio-fertiliser, the current rituals celebrated on Gotland Island can be incorporated with the newly established rituals aligned with the algae blooms.
Bringing together these ever-shifting follies in the media of film, I used the broader meaning of phosphorus as a reference to the control is has on the island. In Ancient Greek, Phosphorus was the god of the planet Venus appearing as the ‘Morning Star’, in the sense of light-bringing. This influenced the atmosphere of the film, using lightness and darkness as ways to guide the story.