Installation view - A New Atmospheric Presence, 2026. All photos: Tuomo Tammenpää / Kulturhus Björkboda
A NEW ATMOSPHERIC PRESENCE, 2026
Sound installation
3 channels, customized pedestals, carton paper, media player, 20 min loop
A New Atmospheric Presence is a sound installaton based on a recently studied phenomenon called ”plastic rain”. In the phenomenon, microplastics that enter the water cycle end up in our atmosphere and travel vast distances with wind and rainwater, polluting even the most remote locations on earth.
For the work, Metsäpelto made underwater sound recordings in busy Greek harbours and at a wastewater treatment plant in Kuopio, Finland, where hydrophones (underwater microphones) were lowered into massive waste filtration pools. The soundscapes captured at these different locations are combined with voices whispering words that different languages and cultures use for windy and rainy weather conditions. The words are being spoken in eight languages by a native speaker of each language, as if whispering into the exhibition space. Accompanying the sound work, vaguely ominous written phrases are displayed on the wall of the exhibition space, which, including the title of the work, are actually direct quotes from plastic rain related scientific publications.
Spoken languages:
Arabic, English, French, Finnish, Romanian, German, Russian, Spanish