Joanna Rajkowska: I, Earth.
in cooperation with Andrew Dixon, Ola Kozioł and Antti Tolvi
Performance, trip to the forest: Wednesday 6.9. at 15:00 Location: Transportation to the site by bus. The departure point at Manilla, Itäinen Rantakatu 64, Turku. Duration: Approx. 2,5h Not recommended for people with reduced mobility due to difficult terrain. The performance and trip to the forest requires pre-booking. Pre-booking here. Installation: Thursday 7.9. to Sunday 10.9., daily between 14-18, Venue: Taiteen talo, basement, Nunnankatu 4, 20500 Turku No reservations needed for the installation. Arrival and accessibility information will be updated at the bottom of the page
The very rocks on which we stand speak through this performance. They speak of how humans treat the soil, rocks, sand – the material on which we stand and on which we depend. In Slavic myths, the earth was always real, sensual and material: Mokosz – Mother Earth (Moksza in Finnish), the central figure of the cult of the ‘moist earth mother’ – soil, primaeval matter.
Selected individuals, including environmental scientists, writers, botanists, shamans and artists were asked to step outside themselves and ‘become’ soil – earth. The contributors were given only the guidance that, as earth, they should direct their statements to humans. For this performance, Joanna Rajkowska has assembled an international troupe (a “white voice” singer, a base monolin player, a percussionist and a choir) who will perform these contributions from within a crack in the earth’s surface – a crevice some 4 metres deep that runs through solid rock on an island near Turku. The desire is to allow the surface to speak as literally as is possible.
Working group:
Joanna Rajkowska, Andrew Dixon, Ola Koziol, Antti Tolvi, Jussi Virkkumaa
Performers:
Ola Koziol, Anna-Maija Ihander, Arttu Punkkinen, Tommi Penttinen
Joanna Rajkowska (b. 1968, Poland) is a versatile artist best known for her work in public space. The outcomes of her works range from urban axes and architectural projects, through geological fantasies, excavation sites to underwater sculptures. Both alongside and separately, she produces films, photographs and models.
To construct sites, installations and ephemeral actions, she uses elements as diverse as plants, buildings, found objects, water, smoke or sound. De-familiarizing, de-humanizing and relating are her operating devices. She is interested in the limitations and the limiting of human activities, multiplicity of agencies and human and non-human relations.
Most of her works happen, live and age in public space. Thus, her practice embraces all the entities involved as well as their relations, including organic and inorganic beings. With a strong conviction that we, as humans, have failed to produce a viable, sustainable culture, she often confronts historical and sociopolitical contexts with the lives of species other than human.
The work is supported by Turku2029 Foundation.
Arrival and accessibility information
Performance/Excursion:
Wednesday 6.9. at 15:00
The show is a trip to the forest, which requires walking through very challenging terrain. The performance is not suitable for people with reduced mobility.
Recommended equipment: Good, off-road shoes and weather-appropriate clothing.
There is bus transportation to the site. The departure place is at Manilla, Itäinen Rantakatu 64, 20810 Turku.
Installation:
From Thursday 7.9. until Sunday 10.9., daily from 14:00 to 18:00
The installation is located in the basement of the Taitee Talo, at Nunnankatu 4, 20500 Turku.
Barrier-free access to the basement goes through the main door of the A staircase. Go the end of the corridor and turn to the left. The disabled toilet is located at the end of the corridor on the right.
More information:
Salla Karvonen, salla@newperformance.fi