ATMOSPHERE (SELVA LACANDONA), 2008
4-channel Soundscape, 4 h 23’ 30’’

Henrik Håkansson’s artistic practice is clearly influenced by his interest in the relationship between nature and culture. His working methods are similar to those of science; however, Håkansson is not primarily interested in the results, but in the scientific method of investigation
itself. By means of sound recordings and other technological recording tools he documents and observes plants, birds, insects and their surroundings.

The work Atmosphere (Selva Lacandona) is an audio and light installation comprising four blue spotlights and a range of sound recordings. In the installation he reconstructs excerpts and fragments of sounds recorded during his stay in Selva Lacandona, a jungle in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. The soundtrack is based on four synchronous recordings with microphones positioned in each direction. The sounds of the jungle vary from very subtle individual sounds to a cacophonic inferno of noise that envelops the audience completely.

With this installation Håkansson focuses on the way in which we study nature and on our complete dependency on technological tools to even understand nature and ourselves as human beings. He points to how these technological methods affect our perception of the world, of nature and the way we treat it.

Henrik Håkansson is based in Sweden and Berlin. From 1989-1993, he studied at the University College of Arts Crafts and Design in Stockholm. He has a record of several exhibitions in Europe, USA and Asia. 

Henrik Håkansson works with nature as the focal point, and the effects that humans and culture have on it. He makes use of a wide range of media, often installations, to deal with our perception of nature through a technological approach. Håkansson participated in the Utopia Station at the Venice Biennale in 2003 and Sao Paulo Biennale in 2004.