Understory
Florentine Schäfermeier
Martha Steinmetz
We are Jacqueline, Florentine, and Martha. Jacqueline and Florentine studied at Design Academy Eindhoven, while Martha holds a Bachelor’s in Psychology and studied Fine Arts at Bauhaus University Weimar. We met in Tromsø and united to collaborate on a documentary about kelp forest restoration.
Jacqueline’s work focuses on expanding access to democratic engagement and exploring her generation’s evolving relationship with educational, cultural, economic, and scientific institutions. She uses observative documentation and dialogue with her surroundings to combine diverse perspectives. Through performative translations, visuals, and sound, she encourages people to connect, engage, and reflect on their role in shaping the future.
Florentine explores the complex relationship between humans and the more-than-human world through photographic research and film. Blending serious documentation with playful reinterpretation, she creates thought-provoking yet approachable work that challenges perceptions with “serious fun.”
Martha’s practice centers on careful observation and recording fleeting moments, building a sound archive that highlights the beauty and fragility of life. Her work invites quiet reflection and renewed understanding through immersive auditory spaces.
Together, we combine different media and methods to create a rich, multilayered approach. For this project, Jacqueline works with analogue photography, Florentine handles filming, and Martha specializes in sound recording and design—forming a strong foundation for experimental, multimedia documentary storytelling.
In this collaborative research project, we explore how analogue photography, digital film, and sound can document local ecological action and communicate the multilayered experience of such communal efforts.
Set along the coastline of Tromsø, Northern Norway, the project focuses on the citizen-led restoration of disappearing kelp forests—key ecosystems for climate regulation and marine biodiversity. It is organized by the local non-profit RISSA Citizen Science.
Through a combination of visual and sonic storytelling, we aim to make these efforts both visible and emotionally resonant. Participating communities are involved throughout the process via conversations, field recordings, and shared moments of action. These encounters are translated into raw, unfiltered film footage, ambient soundscapes from the surroundings of our research, and analogue photography developed using locally harvested seaweed.
Our guiding research questions include: How can multimedia narratives foster care and activate participation in environmental issues? What influence does hands-on restoration in our immediate environment have on shaping personal perspectives on global challenges such as biodiversity loss and climate change? And how can the values of slowness and locality be communicated within a media landscape driven by speed and distance?
We are working toward a short film and a printed research publication—both to be shared through exhibitions and online platforms—accessible to a wide range of audiences to help bridge the gap between science, art, and public awareness.
"Understory" is the first in a planned series exploring ecological repair through visual and sonic storytelling. It reflects our commitment to making environmental issues both visible and felt, grounded inquiry, creative collaboration and participatory methods.