Sissel Marie Tonn

Conceived as a sensorial exploration of the bog, THE PORTAL presents new video, sound, and ceramic work that reflect on the ecosystem of the bog - it's cultural and ecological entanglements, learning what it is to be human, both in deep past, present, and in speculative futures.

Conceived as a sensorial exploration of the bog, THE PORTAL presents new video, sound, and ceramic work that reflect on the ecosystem of the bog - it's cultural and ecological entanglements, learning what it is to be human, both in deep past, present, and in speculative futures.

Conceived as a sensorial exploration of the bog, THE PORTAL presents new video, sound, and ceramic work that reflect on the ecosystem of the bog - it's cultural and ecological entanglements, learning what it is to be human, both in deep past, present, and in speculative futures.

Conceived as a sensorial exploration of the bog, THE PORTAL presents new video, sound, and ceramic work that reflect on the ecosystem of the bog - it's cultural and ecological entanglements, learning what it is to be human, both in deep past, present, and in speculative futures.

Conceived as a sensorial exploration of the bog, THE PORTAL presents new video, sound, and ceramic work that reflect on the ecosystem of the bog - it's cultural and ecological entanglements, learning what it is to be human, both in deep past, present, and in speculative futures.

Ecotones are the transition areas between two adjacent but different ecosystems. Estuaries, tidal zones, wetlands, for instance, are places where complex systems meet and clash, seep into and transform one another. In the series Ecotones I’ve worked with a visual imagery where living organisms become entangled with one another, with their environments and with the novel and persistent materials introduced into the world by industrial activities. In the series of drawings new organic bodies emerge, morph and shape-shift. Through this wild morphology they reject any form of neat categorization of the world, or any separation between “nature” and “culture”.

Ecotones are the transition areas between two adjacent but different ecosystems. Estuaries, tidal zones, wetlands, for instance, are places where complex systems meet and clash, seep into and transform one another. In the series Ecotones I’ve worked with a visual imagery where living organisms become entangled with one another, with their environments and with the novel and persistent materials introduced into the world by industrial activities. In the series of drawings new organic bodies emerge, morph and shape-shift. Through this wild morphology they reject any form of neat categorization of the world, or any separation between “nature” and “culture”.

A real-time simulation of an immune system becoming exposed to microplastics particles. A heart rate sensor sculpture allows audience to animate the body-world through the beats of their hearts, thus forging an embodied connection with this inner ecosystem.

A real-time simulation of an immune system becoming exposed to microplastics particles. A heart rate sensor sculpture allows audience to animate the body-world through the beats of their hearts, thus forging an embodied connection with this inner ecosystem.

A real-time simulation of an immune system becoming exposed to microplastics particles. A heart rate sensor sculpture allows audience to animate the body-world through the beats of their hearts, thus forging an embodied connection with this inner ecosystem.

Digital Render made on the occasion of the retirement of philosopher Rosi Braidotti, as a gift from her department.

Set in the year 2099, Plastic Hypersea is a guided, spatial and interactive experience that speculates on a possible future for the field of immunology in which it has merged with the field of Environmental Health. As the listener explores the terrain they are invited to imagine the environment as an extension of their immune system and to contemplate the many ways in which their bodies are entangled with microplastics in the sediments of Amsterdam’s waterways. Ultimately, Plastic Hypersea asks listeners to abandon the war metaphors haunting immunology and to contemplate a more expanded sense of self.

When our ancient ancestors crept out of the primordial soup, they had to effectively “fold” the ocean back into themselves. This is called the Hypersea—a biological concept describing the interconnected network of nutrient-filled fluids flowing through all land-based organisms. Our blood, interstitial fluids, gastric juices, sweat and urine are daily reminders of these shared aquatic origins. Today, however, there is another material entanglement (re)connecting marine and land-based organisms: plastic. Plastic debris has spread to every corner of the earth through air and water currents. It breaks into ever-smaller bits that never fully disintegrate, and pass from environments into our bodies. In a year of pandemic, where pressure on food systems led to a worldwide public health crisis, contamination reminds us that our health is also inextricably entangled with the health of our ecosystems. Departing from the notion of shared contamination, Plastic Hypersea (the spill) is part science-fiction film, part eco-immunological environment experienced through many different audiovisual “pools” that “infect” one another. From two human bodies attempting to extend their sense of self to include the waters around them, to microscopic footage of cells ingesting microplastics, and 3D scans of an ancient shipwreck, Tonn prompts us to consider how we can shift our understanding of our individual health towards a more ecological world view.

When our ancient ancestors crept out of the primordial soup, they had to effectively “fold” the ocean back into themselves. This is called the Hypersea—a biological concept describing the interconnected network of nutrient-filled fluids flowing through all land-based organisms. Our blood, interstitial fluids, gastric juices, sweat and urine are daily reminders of these shared aquatic origins. Today, however, there is another material entanglement (re)connecting marine and land-based organisms: plastic. Plastic debris has spread to every corner of the earth through air and water currents. It breaks into ever-smaller bits that never fully disintegrate, and pass from environments into our bodies. In a year of pandemic, where pressure on food systems led to a worldwide public health crisis, contamination reminds us that our health is also inextricably entangled with the health of our ecosystems. Departing from the notion of shared contamination, Plastic Hypersea (the spill) is part science-fiction film, part eco-immunological environment experienced through many different audiovisual “pools” that “infect” one another. From two human bodies attempting to extend their sense of self to include the waters around them, to microscopic footage of cells ingesting microplastics, and 3D scans of an ancient shipwreck, Tonn prompts us to consider how we can shift our understanding of our individual health towards a more ecological world view.

n Sphagnum Time we encounter three bog bodies who were never found by the peat diggers of the 20th century. Sacrificed to the bog thousands of years ago, they have obtained a new form of subjectivity beyond the human, one that spans across the ecological circumstances they became part of; of acidic water, sphagnum mosses, trapped methane gas, and the bacterial ecosystems maintaining the bog. In the installation, the bog bodies act as guides for a sub-surface undergoing change. They communicate with us an understanding of time and change that seems beyond our reach, one that requires listening to and observing the subjectivities and rhythms that span beyond the lived experiences of humans. Sphagnum Time invites us to meditate on time and changing environments as the three bog bodies murmur and chant the seasonal rhythms of life and post-life cycles entangled within sphagnum ecosystems. The source material for the characters is created with photogrammetry scans of bog bodies from Moesgaard Museum (DK) and Drents Museum (NL), which support the process of converting these into 3D digital models.

Becoming a Sentinel Species Sissel Marie Tonn, in collaboration with Heather Leslie (Department of Environment and Health, VU Amsterdam) and Juan Garcia Vallejo (Department Molecular Cell Biology & Immunology, Amsterdam UMC - location VUmc) Sissel Marie Tonn investigates the issue of microplastics by re-introducing the concept of a sentinel species. An imaginary human guinea pig takes on the task of becoming a sentinel species by introducing microplastics in her blood. By activating old immunological alarmsystems it recalls latent ancient memories of a common origin in the primordial sea. An immersive audiovisual installation invites the audience to connect with the fluid reality of their own bodies and, perhaps, to become sentinel species too.

Part of exhibition Sentinels with Helena Sanders at See Lab Project Space, February 2020

Installation photo from the exhibition Elsewheres Within Here curated by Jo-Lene Ong at Framer Framed, Amsterdam [2019]. © Maarten Van Haaff, Framer Framed.

Installation photo from the exhibition Elsewheres Within Here curated by Jo-Lene Ong at Framer Framed, Amsterdam [2019]. © Maarten Van Haaff, Framer Framed.

In this ‘deep-time tale’ a fictive scientist explores how certain inter-species evolutionary developments make the boundary between our bodies and the surroundings are more permeable than we might think. Shared evolutionary biomineralization processes has enabled the application of mother-of-pearl in human bone regeneration experiments. But we don’t always get to choose what permeates our bodies - As we infuse our shared ecology with persistent chemicals, we disrupt ancient hormonal developmental processes across a wide range of species.

The Intimate Earthquake Archive is an interactive installation that creates bodily experiences from the seismic data of the man-made earthquakes recorded in Groningen. Worn interactive ‘interfaces’ transform the data into vibratory compositions on the body of the visitor. The vibrations move across the skin similarly to how the earthquakes moved across the land, and inspire ‘deep listening’ within the body. Composition: Jonathan Reus. Hardware design/Interaction: Marije Baalman & Jonathan Reus Radio transmission system: Carsten Tonn-Petersen.

In this ‘deep-time tale’ a fictive scientist explores how certain inter-species evolutionary developments make the boundary between our bodies and the surroundings are more permeable than we might think. Shared evolutionary biomineralization processes has enabled the application of mother-of-pearl in human bone regeneration experiments. But we don’t always get to choose what permeates our bodies - As we infuse our shared ecology with persistent chemicals, we disrupt ancient hormonal developmental processes across a wide range of species.

The Intimate Earthquake Archive is an interactive installation that creates bodily experiences from the seismic data of the man-made earthquakes recorded in Groningen. Worn interactive ‘interfaces’ transform the data into vibratory compositions on the body of the visitor. The vibrations move across the skin similarly to how the earthquakes moved across the land, and inspire ‘deep listening’ within the body. Composition: Jonathan Reus. Hardware design/Interaction: Marije Baalman & Jonathan Reus Radio transmission system: Carsten Tonn-Petersen.

A performative data-collection expedition, where we seek to explore extreme and information-rich sensory environments through the motions of biometric recordings. At the center is the creation of worn instruments that attempt to address notions of collection, categorization and navigation.

Part of the group show Oxalis, CCA Andratx, Mallorca