Imagining Godzilla is a mobile platform for undertaking artistic and other forms of research that are appropriate for a sailing vessel. The shallow draft (less than 1m) allows the boat to get close inshore. Under sail, the boat cruises comfortably at between 6 to 8 knots. The twin-hulled catamaran form provides a wide and stable platform underway, at anchor, or in harbour for various types of activity.
We invite artists and other researchers who are interested to use this platform for an experimental research trip, to imagine how they can benefit from a period onboard Godzilla. There are no restrictions on the type of artistic or scientific projects that can be proposed.
Some possibilities on board include
- Accessing remote island for artistic activity
- Experimental music or performance platform
- Water sample collection
- Surveying extent of blue algae blooms
- Wildlife observation
- Other types of data collection and remote sensing
Godzilla
Godzilla is a Pahi 42 polynesian style sailing catamaran designed by James Wharram. Wharram was the first person to sail a catamaran across the Atlantic ocean in the 1950’s, and is regarded as one of the western pioneers of multihull sailing. The Pahi 42 is designed for ocean sailing, and is a stable and seaworthy craft. Godzilla has sleeping accommodation in the hulls for five, with room on deck for about ten people for day sailing. She has a cutter rig and twin outboard motors. There is a galley for cooking, and a chemical toilet. The boat has full navigational equipment, including chart plotter, radar, A.I.S., VHF radio, and all appropriate safety equipment and a six-person life raft. There is ample storage space for other equipment and supplies. There is also a 10’ dinghy with outboard, oars, and sailing rig, for exploring creeks and bays.
James Wharram Designs https://www.wharram.com
Crew
Andy Best & Merja Puustinen
Andy is co-organiser of Imagining Godzilla project together with Merja Puustinen. Andy is Godzilla’s skipper and in charge of all practical matters concerning the boat. Merja is the main producer and coordinator.
Iida-Liina Linnea
Iida-Liina Linnea is in charge of communication, social media and press, and responsible for daily updates and documentation form the boat. Iida-Liina is a photographer, who currently studies environmental sciences.
State of the Art Network
Imagining Godzilla is part of the State of the Art Network organised by the Bioart Society and other partners in the Nordic and Baltic areas.
State of the Art is a Nordic-Baltic transdisciplinary network of artists, practitioners, researchers, and organizations who have come together to discuss the role, responsibility, and potential of art and culture in the Anthropocene.
By developing creative practices, transdisciplinary collaborations, and public engagement, the network aims to create resilience and concrete actions for living the change in culture, economy, and environment, and to find concrete hands-on methods to deal with the Anthropocene and environmental crisis.
The network wants to strengthen competencies in remote hosting and participation as well as practical sustainability, which will be applied in the production of the activities and throughout the network.
State of the Art Network is supported by Nordic Culture Point, Nordic Culture Fund, and A. P. Møller Foundation.
About the Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is the second largest inland sea in the world, the largest being Hudson Bay in North America. The Baltic Sea is also the largest brackish sea area in the world. Inflow of fresh saline water from the North Sea and Atlantic is extremely limited due to the narrow, shallow channel connecting to the Baltic Sea via the Kattegat between Denmark and Sweden. The Baltic Sea is also fed by rivers from a large catchment area four times the size of the sea itself. Many of the rivers discharging into the sea flow through large industrial areas (Neva – St. Petersburg; Vistula & Motława – Gdansk; Daugava – Riga). For example, the River Vistula drains 60 percent of Poland’s land area. Many rivers in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark run through rich agricultural and forestry regions, and as a result large amounts of organic material and fertilizer run-off are deposited into the sea. All these factors lead to making the Baltic one of the most polluted seas in the world.
The Baltic Sea is heavily used by commercial shipping, particularly by tankers and container ships coming from and heading to ports in Russia, as well as other major harbours such as Gdansk, Klaipeda, Liepaja, Ventspils, Tallinn, Stockholm, and Helsinki. The Baltic also plays host to large numbers of cruise ships, each with the pollution footprint of a small town. In addition, there are many commercial ferries on regular routes connecting cities around the coast of the sea. During the summer months the coastal areas of the Baltic attract huge numbers of tourists and pleasure boaters, particularly in the Stockholm archipelago and the Finnish Archipelago Sea areas, as well as along the northern Polish and German coasts. All these factors lead to increased pollution and pressure on the sea and its wildlife.
