Archiwum Edukacji #12 – Kelp is on the way. Learning from algae about how to be a kinder humankind. Julia Lohmann

The artist creates objects on the border of visual arts and speculative design. She critically analyzes the ethical and material value systems underlying our relationship with flora and fauna. Her primary material is seaweed, whose extraordinary possibilities she discovered as a construction material during a residency in Japan in 2007. Since then, she has been developing a technique for creating objects from marine plants, the use of which is innovative and ecological on many levels. The material is readily available, biodegradable, and its cultivation has detoxifying properties and contributes to the purification of seawater. The artist co-founded a group of international researchers and designers fascinated by this plant, forming the Department of Seaweed.