We use various types of playing as ways of rehearsing and practicing for an independent adult life: training balance, building social competence, experiencing justice.
As human beings we need to practice all the different categories of play in order to grow and evolve. How can the lack of variation in playgrounds be counteracted so that other age groups can practice other types of play in areas of other forms and materials?
Finnish Lapland, until now known for its pristine nature, is on its way of becoming a playground for foreign mining companies that capitalise on the landscape with the blessing of the authorities. The project extrapolates this development into a bleak game world and sketches out its underlying logics: the story, the spaces, the rules, the actions and interactions.
By literally playing the ground—exploring the landscape, balancing the mine and its environment—the player is exposed to questions of ecology, economy, and politics. Who wins and who loses?
Öxarfjörður sits at the outskirts of the habitable world, it is a place where the powerful nature can be felt on the skin, where it is possible to let go of everyday stress and let it be blown out to sea, past the horizon and out of exictence.
Capillarity plays a crucial role. The valley’s topography guides the spread and accumulation of water to the ground and plants for percolation and storage. Plants bring water up the roots and stems, returning moisture to the environment. Rain percolates down through soil and rock to the water table.
The focused interventions will help to improve social life between the quarters on both sides of the stream by utilizing found conditions, local knowledge, and over-looked public spaces.
