MQ Artists-in-Residence Tim Collins & Reiko Goto: HAKOTO | Speaking Leaf

MQ Artists-in-Residence
Tim Collins & Reiko Goto: HAKOTO | Speaking Leaf
Tue 28.05.2024
19 – 20h Performance
20 – 20.30h Artist Talk
MQ main courtyard & summer stage

During the Klima Biennale Wien, the British-American-Japanese artist duo Tim Collins and Reiko Goto will be Artists-in-Residence at the MuseumsQuartier.

As part of their Art & Ecology residency, the two artists will present the public performance of their long-running interdisciplinary project HAKOTO | Speaking Leaf.

HAKOTO | Speaking Leaf is a project that combines art, technology and environmental awareness to shed light on the complicated relationship between humans, nature and climate change. The performance aims to provide an immersive aesthetic experience and stimulate dialog about environmental responsibility.

At the center of this project are unique wireless sculptures attached to the human body and sound instruments specially designed* to interact with trees in innovative ways. These instruments are equipped with advanced sensors that measure the reactions of tree leaves to atmospheric changes and convert this data into a unique acoustic layer. The resulting sounds are based on the characteristics of traditional Japanese percussion, woodwind and string instruments. With each new performance, different soundscapes develop depending on the plants with which the artists interact. In the MuseumsQuartier, the still young trees of the new inner courtyard greenery will be integrated as collaborators for the performance.

Following the performance, Verena Kaspar-Eisert, chief curator of the MuseumsQuartier, will speak with Reiko Goto and Tim Collins on the MQ Summer Stage about their artistic work and research on post-industrial landscapes and green infrastructure.

 *The Collins + Goto Studio worked closely with the musician and programmer Chris Malcolm to assemble a team of artists, hardware and software designers and an electrical engineer who were involved in the construction of the data-driven body instruments.

Tim Collins and Reiko Goto have been working together since 1985, creating a unique intersection of art, ecology and social engagement. Their artistic work is deeply rooted in public space, focusing on natural spaces and the everyday experience of the environmental commons. Their art is driven by an ethical aesthetic impulse to open up spaces for reflection, dialog and action. They live in Glasgow, Scotland.

Photo: Reiko cradling a tiny rowan seedling in the Hakoto leaf chamber. Courtesy of  Rutger Emmelkamp, KNOCKvologan, May 2023.