The posture of impermanence

The exhibition examines performance art in Finland from the early 2000s to the present day.

Person holding a hammer and a small pouch a little above their head, with a microphone next to them.
Photographer: Antti Ahonen

About the exhibition

Performance, and how you do it: proposals for the relationships between humans, live beings, materials and things.

Performance art has often been regarded as the art of presence, but in the recent decades this art form has shifted to social media alongside the everyday environments. Performance art happens in those environments, where we don’t necessarily think of it as art. The exhibition is produced in collaboration with the Vantaa Art Museum Artsi.

Autumn 2021 will mark the 20th anniversary of the Live Art and Performance Studies (LAPS) master’s programme at Uniarts Helsinki’s Theatre Academy. In addition to the exhibition, the anniversary is celebrated in the form of a publication and a party to round off the year.

The exhibition presents installations, performances, discussions, site-specific works, media performances and workshops. The artists of the exhibition are Antti Ahonen, Tea Andreoletti, Freja Bäckman, Yun-Chen Chang, Anna Cadia, Dasha Che, Jessica Guez, Harold Hejazi, Fjolla Hoxha, Amanda Hunt, Tina Jeranko, Minerva Juolahti, Essi Kausalainen, Leena Kela, Kême, Katriina Kettunen, Petros Konnaris, Karolina Kucia, Maija Linturi, James Lórien MacDonald, Stefanía Ólafsdóttir, H Ouramo, Pilvi Porkola, Vishnu Vardhani Rajan, Ladapha Sophonkunkit, Olga Spyropoulou, Onur Tayranoğlu, and Timo Viialainen.

Exhibition opening 11.11. (18-20) 

Opening hours: 12.11.2021-23.1.2022. Tue-Wed 11–18 / Thu 13–20 / Fri 11–18 / Sat-Sun 11–16 / closed on Mondays.

Performance events: 12.11., 25.11., 4.12., 22.1.2022. Changes are possible.

Closing event: 23.1.2022.

Please note that some of the performance events are intended for an audience of one and require signup in advance.

Opening day 11.11. 5pm-7pm

Water Properties Tasting

Tea Andreoletti 

Friday 12.11. 3pm-6pm

LAPS Master’s Students’ Performance

Bones

Kême 

”Satiinimuskeli matkustaa tuntemattomaan maisemaan”

Essi Kausalainen 

Thursday 25.11. 3pm-8pm

Adventures of Harriharri 2

Harold Hejazi (Video, Kinomyyri)

Vibrating Distance

Minerva Juolahti

Space Here We Come

Leena Kela (Paalutori)

Performance

Dasha Che (Myyrmanni)

Non-performance-performance

Vishnu Vardhani Rajan

Errand Hang one-to-one performance

Petros Konnaris (Myyrmanni). Pre-signup here, opens 12 Nov at 12.

We’re like one place – online bedtime story service

Katriina Kettunen & Olga Spyropoulou. One-to-one performance. Note the time: klo 8pm-2am.  Pre-signup here, opens 12 Nov at 12.

Saturday 4.12. 11am-4pm

1pm: The Beginner’s Guide to Performance Art: A Stand-Up Guided Tour – James Lórien Macdonald

James Lorien MacDonald (b. Canada, 1977) is a stand-up comedy performer, queer performance curator, and writer. This guided tour will attempt to intermingle the “lofty” world of performance art with the “low-brow” of stand-up comedy. We will tour the artworks without worrying so much about whether we understand them, and hopefully have a laugh.

2pm: I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer – Freja Bäckman

The start­ing point for Freja Bäckman’s work lies in the origin of the word concert – to contest, question, dis­pute (with) as well as agreement in action. The work has been shaped as a collective piece through workshops and improvisation together with a group of bassists and wood choppers. On the performance we listen a vinyl record: “I was told I chop wood like a ballet dancer (On Circles)” vinyl record:

  • Sound, sound design and original composition for B side: Manuela Schininá
  • Voice: Elena Schmidt
  • Record cover: Ebba Fransén Waldhör
  • Issued by: Scott Elliott / Coda Press, 2020

3pm: “Mastication I & II” – H Ouramo

Mastication is movement. Mastication means to chew. Bodies chew, take in, change, extend, get cut off. Some­thing can stand in for them, leave traces, get removed. Mastication I & II, by H Ouramo (Finland, 1985–), form to­gether a study on chewing gum and the connections be­tween plastic, language and feeling as a fragmentary poem of sounds, images, and gestures.

Performances happening on distance:

1pm and 3pm: Errand Hang / one-to-one performance – Petros Konnaris, online (whatsapp)

Errand Hang, by Petros Konnaris (Cyprus, 1988–), is a one-to-one performance playing with the condition of being in a supermarket while communicating with another person in another country. The performative walk is a juxtaposition of walking and talking, sharing memories and shopping lists, and figuring out what products and moments we enjoy from the supermarkets. In the exhibition installation you can get a glimpse of the performance by listening to what might happen during its first minutes.

8pm – 2am: “We’re like one place – online bedtime story service” – Katriina Kettunen & Olga Spyropoulou. One-to-one performance, online.

We’re like one place is a one-on-one performance that offers a soothing experience of bedtime reading. Each audience member selects the time and the reader that best suits them through the booking form. At the assigned time, they receive a video call from the performer who reads them aloud from the book for approximately 30 minutes.

Saturday 22.1.2022, 11am-4pm

Letters to Paul

Anna Cadia

NADMIDUPA in the Institution

Karolina Kucia

Discussion about archives

Errand Hang one-to-one performance

Petros Konnaris (Myyrmanni).  Pre-signup here, opens 12 Nov at 12.

Sunday 23.1.2022, 11am-4pm (closing event)

Bulb

Timo Viialainen

Performance

H Ouramo (Paalutori)

Errand Hang one-to-one performance

Petros Konnaris (Myyrmanni).  Pre-signup here, opens 12 Nov at 12.

Long table discussion with artists

In addition:

  • Workshop by Fjolla Hoxha
  • Workshop performance by Kême

Changes are possible. See up-to-date information on Artsi Museum’s website.

Time

12.11.2021 – 23.1.2022

Location

Vantaan taidemuseo Artsi, Myyrmäkitalo, Paalutori 3

Paalutori 3

01600 Vantaa

Further information


Please note that we will check Covid-19 certificates of all who take part in the Dec 4 performance event at the museum. Make sure to bring your own or download it to your smart device.

Location on map

See directions