What do we see when we look at nature in urban design? This is already a cultural look since we internalize the knowledge and the context. The way we perceive the environment is not always connected to the raw material of its elements. Perception is always mediated.

This collaboration brings together the practices of two artists who both observe the urban landscape emphasizing the experience of place through sensory observation, commenting on the abuse of natural resources by humanity.

Environmental issues are becoming increasingly complex and addressing them requires a bridge between science, art and humanities. This audio-visual installation is intended to open a discussion as well as personal reflection around the state of inhabited space and what it reveals to humanity.

Coming from different artistic fields, Katerina Botsari and Karl Heinz Jeron attempt to bridge the gap between visual and audio experience. The landmark of the remaining billboards is an artificial element and the mountain is the natural signifier of the Attic landscape from where the water springs. The main subject of Botsari’s research is in the practice of highlighting architectural paradoxes, as invaders in the natural environment. The giant-scale metal structures are the analog “screens” that communicated a variety of consumer messages in the pre-digital age. The auditory part of Karl Heinz Jeron includes several coupled electronic sound devices that transmit data (sonification*) from  the river Kifissos. Field recordings, electrochemical analysis of water samples and artificial intelligence create a piece of music. The goal is to formulate musical-acoustic properties of water for a soundscape.

*Sonification

The sonification used for the installation refers to the technique and the process, the algorithm.  Same as some data visualizations may be ‘viewed’ as art,  sonifications may be heard as ‘music’. Sonification – the auditory equivalent of scientific visualization – is gradually becoming more and more established. It is the use of nonspeech audio to convey information. More specifically, sonification is the transformation of data relations into perceived relations in an acoustic signal for the purposes of facilitating communication or interpretation.

Katerina Botsari holds a Phd in visual arts from ASFA and an MA in Painting from The Slade. In her practice she is raising issues of monumentality, consumption and space occupancy in the public sphere. She is the coordinator of asfaless an art-students collective that makes actions in the public space that touch upon a wide range of social concerns. She is a founding member of the backspace, an experimental artist-run space in Athens. She has made 5 solo exhibitions in London and Athens and has participated in group exhibitions in London, Athens, Istanbul, Toronto, Crete, Patras and Newcastle.  In the summer of 2017 she co-curated the art show “BOOBS-The Semiology of breast” at TAF / The Art Foundation in Athens. She has participated in the residency of Maison Maca (Athens 2016) and Florence Trust (London 2011-2012). In 2006 she represented Greece in the 4th World Student Triennial of Istanbul. Katerina Botsari was born in Patras, Greece in 1980. She lives and works in Athens.

Karl Heinz Jeron

Karl Heinz Jeron was born in Memmingen, Germany in 1962. He lives and works in Athens since 2018. His art deals with everyday culture, media perception and information processing. He creates experiences rather than objects. Jeron’s work spans from the singing and dancing robot Sim Gishel, to compositions for electrified rotten vegetables and audio tour guides in onshore wind farms. Recent exhibitions, events and collaborations include Athens Digital Arts Festival, ZKM Karlsruhe, Ars Electronica Linz, Documenta X, ICA London, Walker Art Museum Minneapolis, Berlinischen Galerie Berlin and the Museum of Modern Art San Francisco.

PS: is a vibrant and diverse collective of visual artists that aims to enhance communication between artists, art lovers, and those who happen to stumble upon the work presented by PS: . We use a model of exhibition-making that focuses on the importance of facilitating artists with an open space to present their work and work-in-progress to a diverse audience. We organize and host events – art shows, concerts, experiments, happenings, screenings, workshops, and residencies. PS: is without space at the moment but continues to work as a PS: Nomadic. Collaborating with different art spaces and artists to continue experimenting and creating.