An artist talk by Christiaan Zwanikken especially for the people of the Convento’s community gardens and other interested.

He talked about his experiments and experiences with worms to compost materials, growing special medicinal and aromatic plants and essential oil distillation.

He demonstrated and explained his three most recent bio works:

High-rise Incubating Observatory: his latest addition to the larger techno botanical framework he is exploring. These modular grow-boxes have independent automatic systems to control light, temperature, humidity and CO2 measurements. An automated micro indoor greenhouse to start and grow lots of young plants all year round.

Lazy Alchemist: a computer controlled essential oil distiller that he has been developing the last 4 years to catch the smells of the Convento gardens and the Alentejo.

Nose Patrol: an art installation shown in the chapel of the Convento that consists of two man-sized, computerized, mechanical sculptures that move around their horizontal and vertical axes while creating three dimensional aromatic clouds that are visible, audible and feel-able. For the scents the essential oils are used that are made by Christiaan.

He also showed short films of the Kinetic Garden: a project for a municipal building in Holland to purify and filter the air with (aromatic) plants indoors to create a better and healthier environment for people to work in.

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_01

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_02

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_03

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_04

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_05

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_06

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_07

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_08

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_09

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_10

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_11

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_12

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_13

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_14

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_15

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_16

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_17

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_18

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_19

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_20

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_22

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_23

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_24

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_25

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_27

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_28

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_29

CONVENTO_MERTOLA_LECTURE_MAY18_30