We are glad to announce that the winning proposal for the Narva urban installation residency (NAIR) is called “Tuhast” (From the Ashes). It will be created by the architect and interdisciplinary artist Augustas Lapinskas from Lithuania. He has participated in Ars Electronica, the Venice Biennale etc. Augustas co-founded the interdisciplinary art collective “Micro-Empathy”, and is a member of the speculative architecture group “3022”.
The installation called “Tuhast” will bring a piece of the oil-shale history to the centre of Narva city. Augustas makes use of the leftover ashes which can be seen stored in man-made mountains all over Ida-Viru county. During the experimental progress of the installation, the author will investigate how to create something new from oil shale ash. He will turn it into innovative concrete which will be inhabited by different local lichens and plants. The project is supported by Narva city, Estonian Cultural Endowment, Estonian Ministry of culture, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, environmental education collective “Micro-Empathy” and local institutions like the Kohtla-Järve Museum of Oil Shale.