Research Catalogue

Transmutations seeks to redefine the term transformation through a staged concert — a concert conceived as a work of art in itself. The traditional concert format and conventional performance practices are showing signs of stagnation, thus calling for the emergence of a voice adapted to this transformation. The boundaries of music, especially within the classical realm, have gradually blurred in recent times. Increasingly, artists are exploring the concert as a form of expression that not only integrates other artistic disciplines but also embraces technological advancements. This approach challenges traditional aesthetic conventions and the notion of genre and musical style. The omnipresence of technology in contemporary society underlines the need for research that explores the many possibilities of the concert format. This staged concert aims to redefine the concept of transformation by avoiding any stylistic boundaries. The works of Richard Strauss, John Cage, and Alexander Schubert are included not only for their artistic value but also for their contribution to the very notion of transformation.

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GOON In 2023, at the age of 28, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. This life-altering event led me to take a closer look at my sexual desire, question my relationship with my genitals, and rethink how I perceive my gender identity. Today, as I navigate a healing period, I seek to explore sensuality as a space of resistance and emancipation. GOON is an attempt to free myself from the shame surrounding (my) queer sexualities. GOON is a research performance inviting the audience to look up close at the way they see and seek pleasure. With a choreographic approach, I am researching queer eroticism as a place of joy. Ignoring the constraints of sexual norms, this exploration focuses on shaping a body that is both playful and desired, despite its apparent dirtiness.

Wixárika crafts are a testament to resilience and adaptability, they have been preserved since pre-Hispanic times. The evolution of some of these over the past century, influenced by global movements in the 1960s, has created a niche for Wixárika art and craft. Influenced by tourism, new styles, colors, and symbols have been introduced, serving as a form of resistance against the erasure of traditional knowledge and practices 500 years after the colonial period. Tsik+ri has gained global popularity as a method to create decorative geometric yarn pieces, but this craft not only provides insights about Indigenous cultures, experiences, and embodied knowledge, but also raises discussion about land and cultural appropriation by non-Indigenous individuals. In this exposition, I present a series of workshops held in the region of the Arctic Circle, where a development project is taking place to improve and enhance the use of sustainable wool by revitalizing craft heritage in a multicultural way. The method of this study is Art-Based Action Research. The study makes visible an essential feature of this textile artifact: its ability to transcend geopolitical and cultural borders, embodying a unique fusion of heritage and contemporary design. Indigenous craft practices from the Mesoamerican Wixárika culture, such as the Tsik+ri, are rooted in the multicultural identity of Mexico. The workshops served as platforms to communicate the culture and challenges of Wixaritari to Arctic and international contexts. This research sustains that implementing craft practices in the context of contemporary art requires profound knowledge and respect for its origins.

AMASS–AMAS–WEIRD oli Utsjoella vuonna 2021 toteutunut yhteisötaideprojekti osana Euroopan Union rahoittamaa Acting on the Margins: Arts as Social Sculpture -tutkimushanketta (2020–2023). Euroopan reuna-alueiden vuorovaikutusta ja yhteistyötä lisäävä taideperustainen toimintatutkimus sisälsi yhteisötaiteen, sosiaalisesti sitoutuneen taiteen ja taidekasvatuksen kehittämistä paikallisyhteisöissä. AMASS–AMAS–WEIRD -toteutettiin Lapin yliopiston yhtenä vastuualueena ja osana delokolonisoivan arktisen taiteen viitekehystä, vaikkakin eurooppalaisessa hankejärjestelmässä, johon sisältyy Euroopan yhtenäisyyden taustatavoitteita. Tässä ekspositiossa tarkastelemme taidekäsityksen arktista dekolonisaatiota, yhteisötaidetta, kuvataidekasvatusta ja hankkeen tutkimusprosessia dekolonisaation näkökulmista. AMASS–AMAS–WEIRD vahvisti kulttuurisen moninaisuuden kunnioitusta ja tuki vuorovaikutusta saamelais- ja suomalaiskulttuurien sisällä ja niiden välillä. Jännitteitä ilmeni niin sanottuun tutkimusähkyyn, marginaalisuuden olettamaan sekä rahoitusinstrumenttiin liittyen. Johtopäätöksenä korostamme taiteen ja tutkimuksen kolonialististen rakenteiden ja eettisten periaatteiden kriittisen tarkastelun merkitystä kulttuurien dialogista kohtaamista tukevan ja yhteyksiä luovan toiminnan kehittämisessä.

Autistic people have six senses: taste, smell, touch, hearing, sight, and then words. Words are a sense that cannot be compared to other senses but allows them to leak in. Words have taste and smell, they are tactile, scratch the skin, bulge in the kidneys, they look: the shape of the letters in different writing styles, they have sounds, sounds when they sound inside the brain and when they say themselves, they are a movement a dance. But all these qualities still cannot define the words. For the words are their own. Their own mind.