from groves to grooves at SODAS2123

The Garden takes the visual and conceptual metaphor of the grove and builds its programme around it. As an assemblage of trees or a smaller unit of forest, a grove is a place where symbiotic communication and relationships take place not only between its indigenous habitants, but also among invasive and migrant species, including human beings and their activities.

Every grove has from six to nine layers: the overstory, the canopy, the understory, the shrub layer, the grass, the forest floor (moss and soil) and the underground (mycelial/fungal/roots). Garden Vilnius is inspired by Jussi Parikka’s Insect Media, and manifests as a networked hive or swarm in the grove, where makers, culture, and DIY activities flourish.

Multiple viewing modes and angles enable 3 days (and nights) of activities in the “physical grove,“ merged with a virtual grove through live streams and pre-recorded materials. One can experience hybrid reality by following a wandering camera(wo)man, a tree climber, a flying drone, a running or crawling pet (dog, cat, bird, rat) or even branch or herb movement.

The artists in the event are expanding the notion of humanity and sustainable living with the help of culturally sited (and rooted) approaches to new media, and its relations to the biological and urban grove.