Natural History by Diane Borsato

 

In 2011 Diane Borsato will be sending a proliferation of butterfly postcards (Natural History, 2009) to the Arctic Circle and providing stamped ones that can be sent onwards (or back south). A la Butterfly Effect, who knows when and where these will surface and what vibes they will take with them on their travels. If you are in the Arctic Circle and would like to receive and/or send these butterfly transmissions please let the team at Smoke Signals Sound know.

Circumpolarity

The Arctic region can be defined as the area north of the Arctic Circle, which is the approximate limit of the midnight sun and the polar night. Alternatively, it can be defined as the region where the average temperature for the warmest month, July, is below ten degrees Celsius. Socially and politically the Arctic region includes the northern territories of the eight Arctic states (including Iceland, Sweden, and Finland), although by natural science definitions much of this territory is considered subarctic. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean surrounded by treeless, perma-frozen land. Due to global warming the planet’s isotherms move polewards, and consequently the Arctic region as defined by temperature is currently shrinking. 

(This text is an excerpt from "Arctic Architecture" by Andreas Müller, in Arctic Perspective Cahier No. 1. For full essay see: http://arcticperspective.org/)

The Last Iceberg by Donna Akrey

Wind Powered Street Organ by Tulle Ruth

Tulle Ruth and her daughter will be travelling by car and boat along the coastline of Nordkalotten (Norway) with stops in Karasjok, Kirkenes, Berlevåg, Tromsø and Lofoten. Sounds from her organ will be powered by wind and will travel by air and water from Arctic Norway, during the summer of 2011. http://www.youtube.com/

Smoke Signals by Yvette Poorter

For the past ten years Yvette Poorter has been the 'resident technician' for an unconventional International Artist Residency called Dwelling for Intervals. The project was based on the slow growth of a forest that she started from seeds. The project had three phases: A Week in the Woods (in a room, in an apartment, in Montreal, 2001-2003), This Neck of the Woods (in a backyard, in central Rotterdam 2005-2007), and Knock on Woods (a roving para-site, in Canada, The Netherlands, France, Portugal, Germany and Japan, 2007-2009). 

The last phase of Dwelling for Intervals is also the starting point for Smoke Signals. In 2011, Yvette will go to the Arctic to burn the archives for a final telling of the stories via smoke. At the same time, she will stake claim to icebergs with the Knock on Woods 'tree-flags' so that they might drift aimlessly and recklessly declaring shifting, unstable territories in the name of Smoke Signals Sound.