About the artist:

Aura Kajas is a Finnish artist who creates sculptures in ceramics. Her works focus on flora and fauna. Biodiversity together with natural habitats has remained her primary inspiration throughout many years. Aura is curious about interspecies relationships and how they have been interpreted in various art forms throughout different times and cultures.
Her primary medium is ceramics and all her pieces are uniquely hand built in earthenware, stoneware or porcelain. She has studied jewellery art in Finland and in the Netherlands – at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam and she is a member of Ornamo, The Finnish Association of Designers. She has exhibited her works in Finland and abroad since 2003.

About the exhibition:

The idea for the exhibition ”Parallel Beat” was born out of interest in the sensory worlds of animals and plants and the differences between them.
There’s a huge amount of information all around us that we as humans cannot experience – in fact, no one can. In the animal world, of which we are part, there are countless variations and specialisations of senses depending on the habitat of each species. Every creature has its own and often unique way of perceiving the world. We humans can’t feel the magnetic field like the turtles or birds can; we can’t detect ultraviolet light like the bees or most other sighted animals can; nor do we feel the electric field around other creatures the way a shark or a platypus can. The list goes on and although we don’t need all the senses (because that would make the world too cacophonous a place) it is interesting, if not appropriate, to know about them. Knowing about the information around us and the sensory worlds associated with them opens new doors for us, enriching our understanding of life on Earth. ”Parallel beat” aims to stimulate thoughts and a will to find out more about parallel worlds that are often overlooked by humans.
Plants also have sophisticated sensory systems. They smell, taste, hear and see and can respond to touch. They also emit sounds that nature can listen and respond to. Alongside the body of work in ceramics this exhibition wants to bring to life the sounds of plants, hence ”Parallel beat”, normally inaudible to the human ear.

Sound:

The sound design for the installation has been crafted by Giuseppe Aceto. He is an Italian designer, visual creator, and musician, and is presently an integral member of the CERN community.
The sound composition involves using recordings of sounds emitted by plants and nature’s sounds like water flowing, and then applying algorithms to create additional sounds automatically. This process creates a unique blend of organic and synthesised audio elements to accompany the exhibition. The synergy of cutting-edge technologies and the harmonies of nature will empower visitors to immerse themselves in a diverse array of emotions and sonic atmospheres. Aceto’s artistic research explores the intricate interplay between humanity and machinery, exploring the essence of human existence itself.