Ingrid Koivukangas
Environmental
Artist
Responding to sites around
the world through works
created in site specific
installation, intervention, ephemeral sculpture,
video, sound,
web, permanent
site-specific sculpture,
photography, printmaking,
painting & drawing.
Welcoming
opportunities
to work in different
geographic regions
& locations
in the world, creating
site-specific works in
response to the land.
Ingrid Koivukangas
Artist
Statement
In a world that is constantly changing via incredible leaps in technology
and unbelievable strains upon the environment I am constantly questioning
our connection to the land and our loss of connection to that land. How
do we arrive at a place where a balance has been found between technology
and nature? At what point do we begin to realize that we are not moving
through a passive landscape, but through a landscape that is a reflection
of our having lost touch with the sacredness of the Earth itself. As an
environmental artist my work is a reflection of our collective archetypal
memories and ways of relating to the Earth.
Think of it -- our physical bodies are made up of stardust, ancient dinosaur
bones, trillions of cells that communicate with other cells, water that
is controlled by the moon just as the tides are – water that is affected
by our very thoughts. We breathe air that has been recirculating around
the globe for millennia – we breathe the same air that our ancient
ancestors once did. We are interwoven into the very fabric of the Earth
– the Earth is interwoven into each of our physical beings. We also
share these physical connections, and are further interwoven, with every
other living being on this planet. We each carry genetic memories within
us, for at one time all of our ancestors lived in harmony with the Earth
and understood the delicate balance between what was seen and what was
intuited
My work is classified as environmental art and encompasses many mediums
including site specific ephemeral and permanent works, interventions,
installation, sculpture, video, sound, writing, web, photography, painting,
print making and drawing. I work in response to sites in the natural world.
I am interested in issues of identity, especially indigenous cultures,
including my own, place, the environment, technology and globalization
– questioning how our identities are shaped by the land while also
exploring how technology can be integrated into that understanding. Much
of my work is an attempt to provide the viewer with a starting point to
begin contemplating their own landscape and possibly their part in its
preservation.
I am never sure what will happen when I begin working in a new area or
landscape. Each site that I choose, or perhaps chooses me, is for a different
reason. I do not research an area before I begin working there. I work
intuitively at sites, with site energies - sometimes through dreams, impressions
or waking dreams. Once the work emerges and is on its way to completion
I will begin a site research based on local history, local stories, and
connections to the larger universe - celestial, botanical, animal and
spiritual.
From a forest fire site shards of burned roots were hung from a ceiling
and viewers were encouraged to open jars of burned materials, while the
sound of quiet breathing filled the room (Wildfire!
1998). A canyon site involved working across approximately 5 kms,
from a viewing station at the east site that invited viewers to travel
to the west site to investigate what could be seen glinting on the other
side - and in doing so asking them to become involved in the journey,
to be aware of where they were physically, to become a part of the land
(Viewfinder Project:Kelowna 1997). The weather
played a large role in Vancouver with rainwater being collected over three
days and then put into 48” long glass microbiology tubes (Rainfall
2001). Archetypal symbols - circles, spirals, lines - have guided and
become part of my exploration in the land, and harken back to earlier
land artists and beyond. A golden spiral was overlaid on a map of Vancouver
and sites chosen wherever land and water met (Nautilus
Project 2001). Circles radiating outwards, reminiscentof raindrops
on water, begin from CBC TV Vancouver and invite viewers to journey through
the land (The 5 Circle Project: Vancouver
2002). This work now exists online as an interactive work. Outside of
Montreal, birch bark rings encircle sixty pine trees, creating a long
white line that emphasizes the lay of fhe land and invites viewers to
journey through the land to two other sites (La
Ligne du Nord: Sud-Oest/The Line of the North: South-West 2003). In
Saskatoon the cliffs along the South Saskatchwan River became the installation
site for large stone works honouring animal spirits – Otter, Hawk,
Frog and butterfly – that can be seen from the sky, the bridges
and from the walking path on the opposite side of the river (South
Saskatchewan River Project: Saskatoon -- Meewasin, 2004). Viewers
were encouraged to leave the gallery installation, during the Works Festival
in Edmonton, to journey to the river to view the site-specific piece that
connected the gallery and site (North Saskatchewan
River Project: Edmonton, 2004). In Spain the moon, quartz and piedra
muerta (dead stone) came together in a large circle that is meant to be
viewed during a full moon when it will glow in the night, echoing the
werewolf folklore of the area (La Luna de Galicia,
2005). From a wetlands heritage site cellular images of natural site
materials, human cells and images of stars and galaxies come together
to form a micro/macro view of the site in the gallery. Viewers were encouraged
to leave the gallery with maps to journey to the site where Starfloats,
glass balls filled with luminescent Earth pigments, echo the phosphorescense
found in the cellular images and stars, as they glow in the trees each
evening as the sun sets, connecting the site back to the stars and the
cellular level (Finn Slough Project, 2007).
I am especially open to, and encourage, collaborations with scientists,
researchers, architects, landscape architects, planners, writers and other
artists. I am available for private and public commissions and to teach environmental workshops.
Ingrid
Koivukangas
BFA:
Okanagan University College • MFA: University of Calgary
