Chorus sinensis | Pomarkku library

In the Pomarku exhibition, Pori Art Museum will continue to present its collections to new audiences in the Satakunta region in the form of library exhibitions. In 2023r, a similar exhibition was held in the exhibition room of Eura library. As the regional museum of responsibility for Satakunta, Pori Art Museum strives to find locations and situations where art can be experienced around the whole Satakunta and seeking opportunities for cooperation with the region’s diverse cultural actors, spaces and places. 

The Chorus sinensis artwork takes the audience to the nesting areas of great cormorants, including Finland’s largest cormorant colony near the Port of Rauma; Enäjärvi in Pori, the first inland lake colony; Marjakari, a barren, treeless islet in the Luvia archipelago, where white-tailed eagles drove away the previously nesting birds; and the cormorant colony living near the Olkiluoto nuclear power plant. 

The history of cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) in the Baltic Sea stretches far into the past. In the early 20th century, these birds were driven from their breeding areas along the Finnish coast. After nearly a hundred years, they returned, rediscovering the outer islands of the Baltic Sea once inhabited by their ancestors. This time, they were protected under European conservation regulations. Their population initially grew rapidly before stabilizing in accordance with natural ecological balance. 

During the cormorants’ century-long absence, Finnish culture evolved, and its landscapes and wildlife were depicted in literature, music, and visual arts. As absent creatures, the cormorants were forgotten—they remained without songs, images, or poems. 

The Chorus sinensis choral composition was created by internationally renowned sound artist and composer Lau Nau, performed in the piece by the Poseidon Choir. The audiovisual component was produced by Pori-based photographer, video artist, and sound artist Jan Eerala. The filming, requiring patience, deep knowledge of the sea, and maritime navigation skills, was conducted over several years in the Bothnian Sea. 

The cormorant-inspired costumes for the choir were designed by artist Merja Markkula. Literary scholar Karoliina Lummaa has explored the shared history and cultural encounters between humans and cormorants in an essay that accompanies the exhibition. 

The project’s curator and initiator is Ulla Taipale, who became fascinated by cormorants twenty years ago. Her work brings together art, nature, scientific research, and ecological thought. Chorus sinensis premiered at Pori Art Museum in 2022, after which the video piece was acquired for the museum’s collection. The artwork has since been exhibited at the Mänttä Art Festival as well as in the gallery of Hanaholmen – Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre. Pori Art Museum supported the making of the work and was a co-producer of the project. 

Photo: Jan Eerala

Pomarkku library
Vanhatie 14, Pomarkku
p. 044 750 1170

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