Julia Lohmann’s magnificent seaweed pavilion was originally displayed at the 50th World Economic Forum in Davos in January 2020. The multi-sensorial seaweed pavilion, entitled Hidaka Ohmu, represents ‘The ‘Department of Seaweed’, a community of practice Lohmann founded around the sustainable development of seaweed as a material for making.

When you approach Lohmann’s pavilion, you can’t ignore the strong scent of the sea, Lohmann’s installation enables visitors to immerse themselves with all their senses. Through it, she is encouraging everyone to try and get closer to the sea and its lifeforms. With her fascinating and thought-provoking seaweed sculptures and interventions, Lohmann joins the ranks of Greta Thunberg, Sylvia Earle and Al Gore to call for urgent changes to address the climate crisis.

Hidaka Ohmu’s message highlights our limits as humans. No human can ever know the ocean like the species that live underwater but at the same time, our way of life constantly impacts the ocean. ‘We must become aware of these limits of our knowledge and empathically engage with the species we impact. We need to put their needs at the centre of every decision we make since they have as equal a right to life on this planet as we do’ Lohmann adds.

Lohmann refers to Peter Senge, a world-famous scholar who has studied organisational change and empathy. She says his theories of system change suggest that ‘it’s not enough to intellectually understand the challenges we’re facing, we also have to understand emotionally what the decisions we need to make are, and how we can be brave enough to make the decisions and change. It’s always scary to change.’

Text: Aalto University
Photos: World Economic Forum