LOCUS est. 2006 by artists Thale Blix Fastvold (b.1978) and Tanja Thorjussen (b.1970), based in Oslo, Norway, works from an ecofeminist perspective with performance and public art in long-term collaborations with the more-than-human cohabitors of the earth like rivers, trees, eelgrass and pollinators.
In an ongoing artistic research, LOCUS sees a strong connection between how we respond to environmental issues like climate change and our renewed spiritual interest and connection to nature.
Working with performance and public art in series over time, and in repetitive actions, the artworks become rituals of care focusing on our interconnectedness with the elements of water, fire and earth.
LOCUS choose materials that are local and sustainably sourced with respect to others – be that other humans, animals, insects or plants, as we all collaborate to envision new futures together.
Photo: Ole Løvold
LOCUS / Tanja Thorjussen & Thale Blix Fastfold: Zostera Marina’s song of increase, 2025, detail. Helsinki Biennial 8.6.–21.9.2025, Vallisaari Island. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Maija Toivanen
LOCUS / Tanja Thorjussen & Thale Blix Fastfold: Zostera Marina’s song of increase, 2025, detail. Helsinki Biennial 8.6.–21.9.2025, HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Sonja Hyytiäinen
Zostera Marina’s song of increase, 2025
Artwork locations: HAM Helsinki Art Museum and Vallisaari Island
Zostera Marina’s song of increase is dedicated to a species of seagrass native to the Baltic Sea: common eelgrass (Zostera marina). This foundational species provides shelter to many other species, reduces erosion by binding sediments to the sea floor, and improves water quality by absorbing nutrients. Sadly, marine eutrophication has seen a decline in common eelgrass meadows. In the low-saline habitat of the Baltic Sea, common eelgrass does not spread by flowering, but mostly by sprouting from its rhizome or from stems that break away and carry fertile seeds to new areas.
In this project commissioned by Helsinki Biennial, the artists envisage a hopeful, speculative, utopian future for common eelgrass, which they imagine as blooming and thriving in the Baltic Sea. The first part of their work consists of glass flowers, sound elements and a performance staged on Vallisaari’s freshwater pond. The second part on display in HAM’s north gallery consists of a bed of aquatic plants in an aquarium, glass blooms and a soundscape. With their project, LOCUS propose an alternative, optimistic narrative in which a healed Baltic Sea is an achieved reality.
The work was created in collaboration with the artwork partner, the John Nurminen Foundation.
Read more about the common eelgrass on John Nurminen Foundation’s website