Science Trail Residency

2023 — Till Bovermann

In 2023, I revisited Kilpisjärvi for the Science Trail residency. My goal was to create sound portraits of “microworlds,” small places that gather a large variety of life-forms. As a sound artist, I am interested in the biophony and soundscape of such microworlds. During my previous Ars-Bioarctica residency in 2019, I identified several such microworlds, listened to them, recorded them, and performed with them with a bespoke live coding system.

Due to organisational constraints, the Science Trail residency took place later than expected, which is why I created sound pieces for three microworlds in the studio based on recordings I made during the previous residency. They are now part of the Saanajärvi Science Trail:

• Breathing Microworlds
• Emerging Microworlds
• Rotting Microworlds.

Since I finished the contributions for the Science Trails already before the residency, I had the opportunity to focus my time not only on revisiting the microworlds but also on other themes around Kilpisjärvi and its many interrelations. I collected my thoughts and experiences in a series of blog posts:

• The revisitations
• The impacts
• The station activities