Ulla Taipale

In the summer of 2008, curatorial research group Capsula embarked on the first of its Curated Expeditions, demonstrating in the process that you don´t need an intergalactic spaceship to uncover new territories and make meaningful discoveries. The series of Curated Expeditions are research trips that engage with earthly phenomena through artistic investigation.

This first Expedition by Capsula invited three artists to observe a total solar eclipse, which took place on August 1st over a vast area stretching from Canada through to Russia, Mongolia and China. The observation location selected is the scientific zoo in Novosibirsk, the capital of Siberia. The eclipse started in Novosibirsk at 5.45 pm.

Artists Agnes Meyer-Brandis from Germany and Mireia C. Saladrigues from Catalonia, Spain, collaborated with the zoo personnel and other experts to study the celestial phenomena and its impact on the animals and the visitors of the zoo, while Finnish photographer Tommi Taipale focused his work on the cultural and geographical distance between Finland and Siberia.

Because Capsula´s latest focus is on the relation between art, biology and environmental culture, the expeditions go hand in hand with a more leisurely and sometimes old-fashioned philosophy of travel: walking, bob-sleighing, swimming, hitchhiking, rowing, sailing, trains and submarines. The journey from Finland to Novosibirsk took several days; while Tommi chose to hitch-hike, curator Ulla Taipale, Agnes Meyer-Brandis and Mireia C. Saladrigues spent three days to get there by train, taking the romantic-sounding Trans-Siberian train-line.

Capsula was founded by Mónica Bello Bugallo and Ulla Taipale in 2005 in Barcelona. It is a platform that creates cultural content and curatorial projects dealing with art, science and nature.

The residency is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.