RECEIVING THE WORLD – Watching Local Nature while Listen to Global Culture
RECEIVING THE WORLD is a multimedia work exploring the intersection of local and global cultures through nature and technology.The piece presents five-minute video segments of “cultivated” nature from around the globe: the rice fields of China, the deserts of Doha, and postboxes nestled within a forest on an island in Finland. These visuals are paired with sounds captured from a world receiver, scanning through shortwave radio bands. This combination creates a unique, site-specific blend of cultural influences, emphasizing how culture transcends borders while retaining distinct local characteristics.
Unlike the homogenizing effect of the internet, where all places often feel the same, "Receiving the World" emphasizes the particularity of each location. The use of radio — an analog, often forgotten technology — gives each setting its own distinct flavor, capturing the nuanced intersection of nature and culture in specific places at specific times. In this piece, culture is not a singular or fixed entity; it is constantly evolving through the blend of local traditions, global influences, and technological mediation.