Embedded Remote Security Blog

29-30/11 Farewell Örö Winter has finally come to the archipelago. I took a last walk to the northern tip. This end of Örö is almost always windy and colder than the southern and eastern shores, although the distance is only few kilometers. The late afternoon light was dim with dreary clouds and a snowstorm approaching.…

28/11 Resilience and Change During my strolls over the island I have noticed a number of uniquely formed trees. The boreal forest in Örö is relatively young. When Örö was first used for military purposes, the woods were felled. Aerial views from the beginning of the 20th century show a barren landscape with multiple military…

27/11 Heimat, Sicherheit und Illusion. Ich komme zu einer Anhöhe. Von der Wiese aus, hinter der Hügelkuppe, hat man einen schönen Blick aufs Yspertal. Ich wandere im Waldviertel, den Weg kenne ich gut. Jedesmal noch hat mich der Ausblick erfreut, besonders der Gedanke an das feine Gasthaus mit den zwei alten Birnbäumen davor, das an…

25/11 The Art of Foraging. Noises.   This piece is dedicated to the Whopper swan, Finnish national bird. I performed the piece on a quiet day, no wind on the performance site. At times, a hum could be heard in the distance, probably from the nearby radar. The swans started calling soon after I had…

24/11 The Art of Foraging. Apaja.   The forests of southern Finland are known to be rich in mushrooms and berries. Since my childhood, that is, as long as I can remember, I have been foraging for edible plants in the woods near Vienna – taught by my parents, with contagious passion. Upon arrival at the…

22/11 FERN BOWL PIECE   No bowl is an island Even deep in the forest Behold my hammer I have found you and come to wake you up From hundred years of sleep Cast iron roughness cast away powerless violator Wake up Ferns Shake up Fronds Let your spores rain all over Spread ferns instead…

20/11 Walden… Island   “Moreover, I on my side, require of every writer, first or last, a simple and sincere account of his own life, and not merely what he has heard of other men’s lives; some such account as he would send to his kindred from a distant land to me.” I dedicate this…

18/11 Security   Today is Sunday. Weekdays carry no meaning here. No shops, restaurants, churches, offices, nothing exists to mark the time. Nothing from outside has an influence how I plan my day, except maybe the weather and daylight. However, I open one of my two bottles of wine today. They were brought in by…

15/11 Fuzzy terrains     It is raining a lot. Lichens grow and expand everywhere, covering trees, rocks, the ground. The world looks fuzzy and contours lack definition.  I decided to occupy the historic mess hall (now hosting a small exhibition) at the southwestern end of Örö. The acoustics are good, the house is made…

13/11 Music, an endangered species?     Since the beginning of my residency period at Örö, I have been looking for locations and places that might be interesting for (musical) performances. During the first days of November, I experimented in the woods near our house, the old school building. At that time, much military personnel…

11/11 Listening #2: mattoteline   All over the island, sturdy and foldable metal racks – Finn. mattoteline – are installed near living quarters or holiday homes, for hanging carpets or laundry. They serve multiple functions. This mattoteline stands near the sauna and a group of holiday cottages. I am attracted to their sound: a multipurpose…

  10-11/11 Alltagsgegenstände – Finnish Design Diesen Eintrag schreibe ich in meiner Muttersprache. Es geht diesmal um Dinge des alltäglichen Lebens und den Haushalt, da kann ich mich in Deutsch einfach besser ausdrücken. Finnisches Design ist für seine Funktionalität und Schlichtheit weltbekannt; auf Örö bin ich zum Fan des ganz gewöhnlichen finnischen Alltagsdesigns geworden. Praktisch…

8-9/11 Shopping and shipping Even in a remote place like Örö it is possible to shop online and receive mail and packages. Setting up my workplace, I found out that a specific cable was missing to connect my laptop to an extra screen. After some consideration, the best solution seemed to order the cable via…

6-7/11 Listening #1 The island is a quiet place these days. The weather is cloudy, slightly misty, only a gentle breeze. Sounds of nature dominate, with the roar of waves as loudest appearance. No cars. Almost no airplanes pass over the land, much different from home. Occasionally a quad bike passing the residency house, once…

5/11 Part of larger worlds This battered tea kettle once stood on the stove of the Reading Room of the Finnish military colony at Örö. A cosy wooden library house was provided as an intellectual stimulant for the soldiers stationed at Örö, in the beginning of the 20th century. Newspapers could be read here, too.…

3-4/11 Examination and surveillance   Everybody seems to watch everyone in this place. We watch soldiers, they observe us. A number of buildings on Örö is dedicated to guarantee safety through surveillance. A fortress, an island, a nation must be guarded, it seems. In the woods, I come across this sign. Even insects are being monitored…

2/11 Exploratory walking On foot, I begin to explore the island, taking extended walks. I enter an enchanted place. At this stage, Örö seems bigger than expected. The landscape constantly changes, surprising views open up. Lichen-covered undergrowth, trees, some of them remarkable individuals, boulders, moss carpets in various shades of green, meadows, reed, and water. Small…

1/11 Landing at Örö   I have never stayed and worked in a place as remote as Örö island. Travelling from Helsinki by bus, we passed though Salo to Taalintehdas. Human settlements thinned out and gave way to fields and cultivated landscapes, later woods, water, moss and boulders came to the foreground. A taxi brought…

30-31/10 Helsinki umarmt mich kräftig und kalt. Ich entdecke einen Ort namens Thinkcorner. Moderne Holzarchitektur, einladend, über drei Stockwerke hinweg. Eine Art Wohnzimmer, sagt man mir, für Denkende, für die StudentInnen und jedermann zugänglich, als Teil der Universität Helsinki, konsumzwangfrei, komfortabel. Wegweisend. Tische, Arbeitsplätze, Sofas, Sitzkissen, zahlreiche Steckdosen. Warm. Alles da, was zum Arbeiten nötig…