The key themes for Teemu Lehmusruusu are the human’s role in ecosystems and the basic conditions of life on our planet, which he approaches with a research-based yet poetic ethos. His hybrid artwork in Helsinki Biennial integrates natural processes and biomaterials research with sound.
Teemu Lehmusruusu (b. 1981) is a Helsinki-based media and installation artist. His key themes are the human’s role in ecosystems and the basic conditions of life on our planet, which he approaches with a research-based yet poetic ethos. His work prompts us to reflect on our place in the food web and our impact on the Earth’s natural world. Lehmusruusu’s current, long term exploration is into the invisible life within the Earth’s soil, that is in a constant state of flux, and endangered by the environmental crisis. He enables us to encounter it through sensors, sounds and computer generated images together with natural materials, such as found tree trunks and laboratory-built mycelium structures complemented with poetry or other media.
Teemu Lehmusruusu: House of Polypores, 2021 ©Kirsi Halkola/HAM/Helsinki Biennial 2021
House of Polypores, 2021
Teemu Lehmusruusu’s hybrid artwork House of Polypores integrates natural processes and biomaterials research with sound. It “listens” to decaying trees and converts their sounds into organ music.
The installation combines mycotecture – a structure made of mushrooms – with electronics and decaying wood. The work is powered by solar energy and its sensors have super-sensitive “ears” that pick up every change and movement in the decomposing wood.
Photo 1: Matti Pyykkö/Helsinki Biennial 2021
Teemu Lehmusruusu
House of Polypores
2021
Mycelium structures, rotting wood, organ pipes, sensors, solar power
Composer: Antti Tolvi
Sound Designer: Markus Heino
Mycelium Technology: Mogu
Thank You: Kone Foundation, Sunwind, Biofilia Laboratory, Kunstventures
Commissioned by HAM/Helsinki Biennial 2021