MOSS analyzes and reinterprets the air quality of our cities
Marco Barotti’s MOSS_이끼 is a kinetic sound sculpture driven by live air quality data of Korean and global cities, generated by AirKorea, the World Air Quality Index, and the Sensor Community platform. The living and breathing installation is inspired by the biology and functionality of 10 moss species, and is programmed to analyse the air quality of our cities and reinterpret the data with breathing patterns, movements, and evolving soundscapes.
From Seoul to Berlin, Gwangju, and Beijing, the audience is able to experience in real-time the world’s air quality transformed into a sequence of sound and movement. Along the bottom of the moss carpet, loudspeakers installed with custom aluminum arms diffuse sound and generate movements, meanwhile, an embedded monitor allows the audience to see the city being reinterpreted by the art.
MOSS kinetic sound sculpture | all images courtesy of Marco Barotti
marco barotti uncovers moss as an aesthetic medium
MOSS-이끼 arises from Berlin-based artist Marco Barotti’s interdisciplinary collaboration with curator Keumhwa Kim and landscape architect Jung-Hwa Kim. As part of the ‘Zer01ne’ creators program, an innovation platform for artists, designers and architects, the team sought to discuss sustainability against the backdrop of the climate crisis from the perspective of the (post) Anthropocene, data science, citizens Science and planthropology. Ultimately, the project contributes to global research while engaging citizens to engage in the crucial discussion about air quality and earth democracy, by learning from the wisdom of nature and the service of technology.
The team travelled through Korea to interview bryologists, moss gardeners and air quality researchers, compiling their findings to materialize the MOSS-이끼 kinetic sound sculpture supplemented by a documentary film. The film comprises five guides the audience from the Gotjawal forest to moss gardens and research institutes, comprising interviews with Korean bryologists, moss gardeners, and air quality scientists aims to communicate the ecological conditions and expressions of mosses.
a screen embedded into the moss carpet depicts the location of the air being analyzed
10 korean moss species shape the kinetic sound sculpture
Together, the display invites audiences to discover the potential of moss as an aesthetic medium that connects humans, other living agencies, and technology, and synesthetically reinterprets and transmits data on air pollution. The sculpture is shaped by 10 representative moss species from Seonheul Gotjawal on Jeju Island to the DMZ, with the selection curated by Korean bryologists at the Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center of the National Institute of Forest Science, National Institute of Ecology, South Korea.
‘Mosses belong to the evolutionary oldest land plant group, the bryophytes. They have made their way from use in traditional medicine to a manifold of uses today: They please us with their presence. They monitor the quality of our environment. They filter our air and water. They provide opportunities for treating severe human diseases, and if we simply let them grow they will restore Biodiversity and will help us to halt greenhouse gas emissions, thus tackling tremendous ecological problems like climate change,’ notes Marco Barotti.
the film invites the audience to discover the potential of moss as an aesthetic medium

the sculpture is inspired by the biology and functionality of different moss species
10 representative moss species from Korea shape the installation

loudspeakers diffuse sound and generate movements
MOSS_이끼 encourages civil engagement by combining the wisdom of nature and technology
The research, prototypes and previous versions of MOSS are funded by Land Tirol, Kör 2021, Neu Start Kultur supported by Freedom Festival Arts Trust, C-Takt and developed with Tiroler Künstler:innenschaft, Kilowatt, Resilienze Festival, Innsbruck Botanical Garden, with tech partners Sensor Community, Clarity, Iqair
Thanks to: Petra Poelzl, Georgia Moule, Anne Panten, Andrea Haenggi, K12, Stefan Ditzelt, Danilo Rasori, Severin Sonnewend, Sergej Meyer, Valeria Solari, Albano Barotti, Hugo Bergs, Pierre Zerbib, Carsten Reith, Jason Liebert, Julia Covi, Mirjam Patricia Miller.



project info:
name: MOSS_이끼
designer: Marco Barotti
funding and production: Zer01ne
curator: Keumhwa Kim
research: Jung-Hwa Kim
technical advisors: Woongtaek Park, Dr. Yongkyu Kim, Jonghyun Baek, Simone Serlenga
moss mentors: LifePanel
moss expert: Christian Anich
software programmer: Marco Accardi | Anecoica Studio
construction advisor: M.Arch Lorenzo Soldi
lighting advisor: Hannes Sesemann
assistant: Cora Röschlein Moss
external eye: Anna Anderegg
supply cooperators: Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center of the National Institute of Forest Science, National Institute of Ecology, Biotope Gallery
data source: AirKorea, Sensor Community, World Air Quality Index
documentary film producers: Jung-Hwa Kim, Keumhwa Kim
director: Marco Barotti
writer: Jung-Hwa Kim
DoP: Swan Park
editors: Marco Barotti, Swan Park, Keumhwa Kim, Jung-Hwa Kim
sound designer: Marco Barotti
english proofreading: Marie Frohling
interviewees: Dr. Chang Keun Song (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Carbon Neutrality, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology) Dr. Eun-Young Yim (Research official, Warm Temperate and Subtropical Forest Research Center, National Institute of Forest Science) Dr. Seung Se Choi (Senior researcher, National Institute of Ecology) Bong Chan Kim (Gardener; CEO, The Garden) Woongtaek Park (Moss designer; craftsman; CEO, Biotope Gallery)
designboom has received this project from our DIY submissions feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.
edited by: ravail khan | designboom
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