nabbteeri is a collective formed by artists Janne Nabb (b. 1984) and Maria Teeri (b. 1985), whose identities and agencies are playfully intertwined in their projects. nabbteeri’s artworks explore possibilities for multispecies cultures to flourish in webs of coexistence.
In their practice, nabbteeri parasitizes, scavenges for remains and rummages through dusty corners and ruins to reveal a universe inhabited by more-than-human species normally hidden to humans. Combining media art, installation and locally found materials, their exploratory, processual practice is like an expedition of discovery, embracing the element of surprise. At the heart of their work are processes of change, and the cycle of life and death.
Photo: Finnish National Gallery/Pirje Mykkänen
nabbteeri: a suitable host, 2025, detail. Helsinki Biennial 8.6.–21.9.2025, Vallisaari Island. Photo: HAM / Helsinki Biennial / Sonja Hyytiäinen
a suitable host, 2025
Artwork location: Vallisaari Island
Parasitism and its (positive and negative) potentials in forging relationships is a key concept underpinning nabbteeri’s new installation at Helsinki Biennial, a suitable host. The installation is a variation on the theme of decay they have been exploring for the past decade. By roaming the island and observing its more-than-human communities, nabbteeri discovered a suitable physical context for a site-sensitive exploration of multiple themes that converge in their practice.
The installation is a parasitical structure of fallen branches, dead perennials and other locally gathered plants mounted on the exterior of the island’s dilapidated old schoolhouse.
Among the wilted perennials are polemochorous species such as Turkish warty-cabbage and hoary alyssum, which were introduced to the island in human-imported fodder. Forming an impenetrable armour clinging to the school’s exterior, the installation invokes camouflage or self-defence, but it also forms a shelter that will hopefully enrich the decaying school’s ecological habitat as a refuge for the island’s diverse cohabitors. Fragments of history – both of the island and the biennial – are preserved under, between, and within the work.