Patta Selects: Orkestra
Interview by Violette Esmeralda | Photography by Anna Dekker
Orkestra isn’t easily defined, and that’s exactly the point. Orkestra is a kaleidoscope of practices as diverse as a healthy ecosystem. It’s core is centred around ecology, art and wildlife. Founded by artists Aukje Dekker and Kristian de la Riva, Orkestra is less a destination than a reciprocal system: what you bring shapes what you receive.
Located in Asturias, a region of northwest Spain, set within dramatic coastlines, ancient mountains, and a powerful river, Orkestra uses artistic thinking to challenge how we relate to the living world around us, posing a quiet but radical question: what might happen if we stopped trying to control life, and instead learned how to collaborate with it?
How would you describe Orkestra? What can people expect when they visit?
Orkestra is the name we came up with to bring together all the things we’re fascinated by: from animal-tracking courses, art interventions, fermentation masterclasses, artist residencies, animal communication, Rewilding leadership programs’, festivals, foraging and a sculpture garden.
We have a hotel with twelve full-board rooms, a small cabin, a big vegetable garden, sheep, dogs, chicken and are surrounded by untouched nature and a pretty impressive river. The place itself is a breeding ground for all kinds of projects and radical encounters. The views are ridiculous. The coastline is pure drama, and the mountains are ancient.
This year, we are planning wolf snow tracking in Slovakia, a special solar eclipse expedition, and more. There’s also talk of hosting a Patta Academy here. And of course: Patta Asturias, Goat Socks Edition. Underneath it all is a desire to radically shift how we interact with and understand the living world around us, one of the biggest challenges our culture faces in these times.
How do you define permaculture, and how is that important to Orkestra’s practice? How can people apply those principles in their own communities?
Permaculture is a way of re-seeing landscapes: not as resources, but as living fountains of biodiversity. There are many methodologies within permaculture, but we approach it with trial, error, play, and fun. That mindset takes away the pressure of needing to know everything. Instead, you learn by experimenting. The essence is simple: if the birds eat all your berries, don’t try to get rid of the birds; plant more trees. You can’t really do it wrong. Just engage. If you care for more than yourself, it works. Always perennial over annual.
How do your backgrounds influence Orkestra? What do you each bring to the project?
We were classmates at Central Saint Martins in London and are both grounded in artistic education. Art school taught us how to look and observe, to read patterns, subtleties, and relationships. Together, we use art as a tool to create new ways of relating to the natural world.
What has surprised you most since moving here and building Orkestra?
Living with the seasons and the realisation that there are more than just four. In Japan, they recognise seventy-two. We reduce things to understand them, but life is messy and complex. When you spend more time outside, there are new forces at play. If you’re quiet enough to listen, there’s still so much to learn about managing time and energy better. At the end of the day, we don’t know shit. Nature teaches you humility if you let it.
What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?
We are working on our Sculpture Garden of Decay. Ranging from nine-metre-high carved wooden sculptures to oil paintings, every piece lives outside with no upkeep. Insects, weather, mould, everything becomes an active collaborator. The whole process will be visible on our website.
