Eco Emotional Footprints

What stories do plants embrace inside?

The plants are asked to secretly tell their stories. The stories change depending on the mood and condition of the plants. They are also strongly influenced by their surroundings, such as the intensity of light, temperature, soil and others. In different seasons, different years, and different places, they tell unique stories.

Moreover, the story changes depending on the listener. They don’t want to tell the story to people who don’t listen very well.

Eco Emotional Footprints is a year-long performative and archival project that explores the evolving relationship between Finland, particularly Otaniemi where I reside, and myself through the exploration of ‘colours’. Through a daily practice of keeping natural dye/ary (dyeing + dairy), the artist unveils hidden colours from Otaniemi that transcend beyond sight.

The project has the following four pillars:

• • Natural Dye/ary = Natural dyeing and diary

Natural dyeing with foraged plants unveils hidden shades, allowing us to perceive the land’s stories through the lens of perception. The accompanying diary records daily interactions with both humans and the captivating non-human entities that inhabit my world—an ever-evolving emotional landscape.

• • Glass and glaze making

To archive the land’s sparkling memories, I’ve crafted glass from local sand and glaze for ceramics from sand, clay, and plant/wood ashes in Otaniemi.

• • Tea party/sharing performance

I invited participants to a tea party to serve wild herbal teas and crystal jelly candies sourced from Otaniemi.

• • Memory book

The land’s sparkling memories have become a collection of small stories and poems born from my year-long interaction with Otaniemi.

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My interaction with the land extends beyond observation to foraging and eating wild-grown foods, fostering a deeper understanding of the immediate environment’s embodied knowledge and sensory experiences.

In this pursuit, ‘colour’ transcends the visible realm, dancing across senses from touch to sound, fragrance to harmony.

Photo: Lu (the first four and the featured photos), Nagisa Mizuno (the rest photos)

You can check the online version of the book here: