VAST: Visiting Artist & Scholar Talks

Erich Berger is an artist, curator, and researcher based in Helsinki. He currently works at the University of Oulu in Finland, where he conducts interdisciplinary research into how artists approach temporalities beyond human-centred time, combining cultural anthropology, geology and art. Throughout his artistic practice, he has explored the materiality of information, and information and technology as artistic material. His current artistic focus lies on issues of deep time and hybrid ecology which led him to work with geological processes, radiogenic phenomena, and their socio-political implications in the here and now. In his fieldwork-based practice, he carries out extensive work on natural radioactivity, potential uranium mining sites, and nuclear infrastructure in Finland and abroad, resulting in works like Inheritance (2016), Open Care (2017), Spectral Landscapes (2021 - ongoing) and Landscape Machines (2023 - ongoing). As curator he develops opportunities that create critical transdisciplinary encounters and work situations between professionals from art, natural science, technology and the humanities, recognizing science and technology as fundamental transformative powers of our life world. Berger has worked as chief curator for Laboral Centro de Arte in Gijon, Spain (2007-09) and as a director for The Bioart Society in Helsinki, Finland (2009-23). His art is exhibited widely in museums, galleries, and major media-art events in Europe and worldwide, such as Ars Electronica Linz (AT), File Festival Sao Paulo (BR), Sonar Barcelona (ES), and the Venice Biennial (IT). Berger’s work has received awards from Prix Ars Electronica (AT), the Bavarian Broadcasting Station and ZKM (DE), Vida Telefonica (ES), LABoral (ES), Files Prix (BR) and Arts at CERN (CH).