MOSS kinetic sound sculpture breathes and pulsates driven by global air quality data

MOSS analyzes and reinterprets the air quality of our cities

Marco Barotti’s MOSS_이끼 is a kinetic sound sculpture driven by live air quality data of Korean and global cities, generated by AirKorea, the World Air Quality Index, and the Sensor Community platform. The living and breathing installation is inspired by the biology and functionality of 10 moss species, and is programmed to analyse the air quality of our cities and reinterpret the data with breathing patterns, movements, and evolving soundscapes.

From Seoul to Berlin, Gwangju, and Beijing, the audience is able to experience in real-time the world’s air quality transformed into a sequence of sound and movement. Along the bottom of the moss carpet, loudspeakers installed with custom aluminum arms diffuse sound and generate movements, meanwhile, an embedded monitor allows the audience to see the city being reinterpreted by the art.

MOSS kinetic sound sculpture | all images courtesy of Marco Barotti

marco barotti uncovers moss as an aesthetic medium

MOSS-이끼 arises from Berlin-based artist Marco Barotti’s interdisciplinary collaboration with curator Keumhwa Kim and landscape architect Jung-Hwa Kim. As part of the ‘Zer01ne’ creators program, an innovation platform for artists, designers and architects, the team sought to discuss sustainability against the backdrop of the climate crisis from the perspective of the (post) Anthropocene, data science, citizens Science and planthropology. Ultimately, the project contributes to global research while engaging citizens to engage in the crucial discussion about air quality and earth democracy, by learning from the wisdom of nature and the service of technology.

The team travelled through Korea to interview bryologists, moss gardeners and air quality researchers, compiling their findings to materialize the MOSS-이끼 kinetic sound sculpture supplemented by a documentary film. The film comprises five guides the audience from the Gotjawal forest to moss gardens and research institutes, comprising interviews with Korean bryologists, moss gardeners, and air quality scientists aims to communicate the ecological conditions and expressions of mosses.

a screen embedded into the moss carpet depicts the location of the air being analyzed

10 korean moss species shape the kinetic sound sculpture

Together, the display invites audiences to discover the potential of moss as an aesthetic medium that connects humans, other living agencies, and technology, and synesthetically reinterprets and transmits data on air pollution. The sculpture is shaped by 10 representative moss species from Seonheul Gotjawal on Jeju Island to the DMZ, with the selection curated by Korean bryologists at the Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center of the National Institute of Forest Science, National Institute of Ecology, South Korea.

‘Mosses belong to the evolutionary oldest land plant group, the bryophytes. They have made their way from use in traditional medicine to a manifold of uses today: They please us with their presence. They monitor the quality of our environment. They filter our air and water. They provide opportunities for treating severe human diseases, and if we simply let them grow they will restore Biodiversity and will help us to halt greenhouse gas emissions, thus tackling tremendous ecological problems like climate change,’ notes Marco Barotti.

the film invites the audience to discover the potential of moss as an aesthetic medium

the sculpture is inspired by the biology and functionality of different moss species

10 representative moss species from Korea shape the installation

loudspeakers diffuse sound and generate movements

MOSS_이끼 encourages civil engagement by combining the wisdom of nature and technology

The research, prototypes and previous versions of MOSS are funded by Land Tirol, Kör 2021, Neu Start Kultur supported by Freedom Festival Arts Trust, C-Takt and developed with Tiroler Künstler:innenschaft, Kilowatt, Resilienze Festival, Innsbruck Botanical Garden, with tech partners Sensor Community, Clarity, Iqair

Thanks to: Petra Poelzl, Georgia Moule, Anne Panten, Andrea Haenggi, K12, Stefan Ditzelt, Danilo Rasori, Severin Sonnewend, Sergej Meyer, Valeria Solari, Albano Barotti, Hugo Bergs, Pierre Zerbib, Carsten Reith, Jason Liebert, Julia Covi, Mirjam Patricia Miller.

1/3

moss functions as a filtration system in our ecosystem

every 10 seconds a random city in the world is picked by the software and the data is translated into sound and movements based on the AQI US scale

audiences can experience the world's air quality transformed into a kinetic sound installation in real-time

project info:

name: MOSS_이끼
designer: Marco Barotti

funding and production: Zer01ne 

curator: Keumhwa Kim

research: Jung-Hwa Kim

technical advisors: Woongtaek Park, Dr. Yongkyu Kim, Jonghyun Baek, Simone Serlenga

moss mentors: LifePanel

moss expert: Christian Anich 

software programmer: Marco Accardi | Anecoica Studio 

construction advisor: M.Arch Lorenzo Soldi

lighting advisor: Hannes Sesemann

assistant: Cora Röschlein Moss

external eye: Anna Anderegg

supply cooperators: Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center of the National Institute of Forest Science, National Institute of Ecology, Biotope Gallery

data source: AirKorea, Sensor Community, World Air Quality Index

documentary film producers: Jung-Hwa Kim, Keumhwa Kim

director: Marco Barotti

writer: Jung-Hwa Kim

DoP: Swan Park

editors: Marco Barotti, Swan Park, Keumhwa Kim, Jung-Hwa Kim

sound designer: Marco Barotti

english proofreading: Marie Frohling

interviewees: Dr. Chang Keun Song (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) Dr. Eun-Young Yim (Research official, Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science) Dr. Seung Se Choi (Senior researcher, National Institute of Ecology) Bong Chan Kim (Gardener; CEO, The Garden) Woongtaek Park (Moss designer; craftsman; CEO, Biotope Gallery)

designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.

edited by: ravail khan | designboom