The fourth week of Everwhatgallery, Utopia

Utopia, a perfect society, good place and also no-place.

Everwhatgallery's last theme brings a lot of questions regarding our lives. We always pursue perfection and good things. But what can be perfect? it depends on us.

Everwhatgallery is indeed a good place. Everyone who visited the gallery never forget to say "This is a nice place".  For some of us, the basement of Uusiseurahuone can be Utopia. There are people, discussion, talks, music, art, light, darkness, sadness, happiness and etc.

The first performer of the week, Anssi Laiho brought interesting sounds to the gallery. Could the sounds be the sound of Utopia? The fmiliar sounds, maybe Utopia is around us?

 

Everwhatgallery also got a lot of new works by Antti Ylönen and Antti Tenetz

 

 

 

 

Joose Mikkonen's animal songs also can be sounds of Utopia.

Children also come and express their art in Everwhatgallery.

 

and listen children's music by Soiva Siili.

A lot more fun things are waiting for the last week in Everwhatgallery!

Oulun Taiteiden Yö, Oulu art night in Everwhatgallery

 What an exciting day, art everywhere in Oulu.

In front of Everwhatgallery, our artists, Niko-Petteri Niva, Niels Leenders, Jussi Pylkäs,Jenna Kemilä were drawing on the street with chalks.

 

The first performer Surasit played his rough sounded guitar with singing

After his performance ended, everyone went outside to see KEKSI Kollektiiv's street dance inspired by jungle. Everyone stopped and enjoyed the moment with Keksis. 

People stayed to listen Julian Owusu's spoken word with poems.

 The last performance was Rites for the Digital Shaman by Tanja Råman and John Collingswood.

"The Digital Shaman emerges into an underground cave in central Oulu. Fusing contemporary dance with responsive projection and a live generated soundtrack, TaikaBox creates a unique and powerful experience, shifting ancient energy into the digital age. This performance installation is part of an ongoing research project into ancient mysticism and improvised ritual enhanced with cutting-edge technology, and will be broadcast live via Periscope. See taikabox.com for more details."

(http://www.everwhatgallery.com/)

For one hour, it continued.

The smoke kept spewing and mysterious music repeated with her dance.

Yes, It really looked some kind of ritual, which was hard to know.

But the light behind, was beautiful with windblown leaves in the forest background. 

For this one hour, I don't know where I was. 

Tanja, dressed up like an animal, was dancing for rites. Slowly and repeatedly.

One point, the forest light disappeared and the digital age came. 

The music also changed, with more mechanical sound. 

It was another kind of beauty, different from the nature, but still beautiful. 

The hundreds of beams lightened the dancer, and an indescribable scene was made.

As the one appreciator said, it was really "mahtava"

I don't really know how to explain,

but my one hour passed with strange feeling that I have never experienced.

Oulun Taiteiden Yö, Oulu art night "Pikisaari Old Wool Factory Ateliers"

Pikisaari Old Wool Factory Ateliers

Old wool factory in Pikisaari is a place for artists "Sakari Matinlauri, Jyrki Poussu, Jaakko Pernu, Karoliina Niemelä, Lauri Rankka, Raimo Törhönen and Niilo Komulainen".

The art works are made in this place and it was open for Oulu art night. 

When I arrived, the artists were putting this yellow long johns on a clothesline.

The first atelier was Lauri Rankka. There were many pressing machines that he used for his art. His wooden sculpture was very interesting which, he explained, is composed with human figures but it also looks like insects and plants. 

All the lives in one. It was very beautiful. 

 In the same building, there were Raimo Törhönen's atelier as well.

He displayed his paintings along with Päivi Pussilan's landscape painting.  

Her paintings, with dark color reminded another color of Finland that

I forgot during summer.

On the other sides, there were ateliers for metal and wood arts. 

I was really impressed how wood as material mean for Jyrki Poussu.

"I have found a unique
relationship with wood - wood is warm, personal, and very
much a part of the Finnish character. It is perhaps one of the
most important material i have ever used. In wood, there
are always present traces of the past, and reminders of the
future. We see in in wood not only the markings of history,
but also the continuity of life - the circle of life."

(http://www.poussu.net/aboutart.html)

 It was a big pleasure to be able to see the artists' working space.

So many things, were there.

art. life. and more.

Everwhatgallery third week, Hypothesis

Everwhatgallery started its third week with the theme "Hypothesis". 

Artists from Oulu Game Lap also started new drawings for the new theme. 

and Aura Sinervo came to perform first for the week. 

 

 It was her third performance with another last one waiting to be performed on this Friday. Unfortunately, I missed previous two performances of her
 and just heard that she eats.
She was covered with white and orange color of plastic bags.

She put her blocked eyeglasses on and threw off her orange slippers. 

She seemed to enter another world. 

Her hand, with plastic gloves, was holding an orange paprika. 

She started cutting the paprika in pieces and took out two pincettes. 

She looked like she is experimenting the paprika in laboratory.

She tasted one and munched the others. 

The smell of the fresh paprika spread over the room. 

She wanted to show how she was experimenting the paprika to everyone in the room.

I was sure that she really enjoyed eating and it looked very tasty. 

Her intentional movements made more sounds on top of bubble wrap. 

When she finished eating, she took her glasses off.

And she looked different person. Normal one. A person who is not eating a paprika.

I and my friend were wondering, what on earth does she mean by it?

Why food? why eating? why no comments? why the plastics?

Our head were filled with question marks.

We know that sometimes it tells more when one doesn't say anything.

But we really want to listen your voice, Aura!

Probably on Friday, will she say something? 

The shadow of roses

She stood behind the counter,

and the shadow of roses started blossoming in her white shirt.

The roses,

 which observed everyone who were visiting the gallery,

 lived beautiful lives with art. 

Now the flowers wither,

they might not be able to welcome people anymore. 

 But, the moments 

when they came to us from the people who loved Everwhatgallery 

will be remembered,

 as it made another beautiful life in the white shirt.

The body, 2nd week of Everwhatgallery

The body drawings


Jarkko Lehmus performing

 The body

Everwhatgallery opened its second week with the theme "body" Jarkko Lehmus knocked the door of Everwhatgallery to perform his five hours choreography "Degeneration von einem Engel" 5hours? Yes, he performs staggering 5hours dance without breaks, in one small space. Whoever watches him in the tiny room leaves the place with wet eyes. It just brings a lot of emotions. It can be because the long hours, or his face filled with anguish, hardship and grief, or the empathy with him. Whatever it is, it is breathtaking. it vibrates my heart and it maybe is not a right word, but it is beautiful.



 Come and see Jarkko's performace tomorrow and Thursday (12th and 13th August, 15-20)



Here is what Jarkko explains about the work.

Man fails to break. Man changes.

http://dancetabs.com/2013/09/jarkko-lehmus-blog-man-fails-to-break-man-changes/


There is joy in repetition. Repetition that goes beyond my perceived limits. Repetition that on paper sounds like something that would not be possible for the person I think I am. Who or what do I think I am? What do I know of myself? Apparently not much, for after repeating a 9-minute solo in a studio for four hours during one day and the next weekend in a shop window for 12 hours over three days, I had failed the task I had set myself: I had not disintegrated into a bubbling mess of primordial goo. The idea was that I would repeat the same solo next to a video of me doing it in the same space. The lights, the sound and the video would carry on and I would degenerate after dancing as long as I humanly could. An epic fail was the aim and in a way that is exactly what happened. I epically failed to fail epically. Instead I emerged from my public space/time bubble as a different man. A man with wide pupils, open heart, soft flesh and shining bones. Err… Yeah. No substances other than prolonged oxygen and cosmic energy intake involved. That’s some good sh*t… The computer didn’t crash, so the sound, the video and the lights worked and I carried on until some kind soul told me that it was time to stop. Even the choreography didn’t change all that much. instead what changed was the way I made it happen: not with muscles but with bones, core and energy circulation. In a way the man I thought I was broke down, but that didn’t mean that a man would have not carried on as a medium of some sort of higher energy I had not realised I was capable of tapping into. Degenerating it was not. Transforming it certainly was. Yeah… Weird looking at the world, and yourself, with different eyes than what you had just a few hours before.
 We are very seldom alone in the same place for hours on end without thinking anything but the moment at hand. At least I am usually not. What doing that does is very interesting. Due to the exhaustion of the flesh and the mind nothing else exists but the task of the next reach and the next breath. There is no tension of the mind nor the flesh. There is no contact with other people. There is no caring about what others might think even though there is a mass of them looking at me. There are no clocks. There are no thoughts. What there is is emptiness. Purity. Economy of movement and the mind. Outbursts of emotions. Tears. Happiness. The movement of the sun. The pace of the department store behind me. The moment. The movement. The next cycle. The next reach and the next breath. The flowing centre that moves those light and shining bones. On an occasion I realised that I was experiencing things I had heard better dancers talk about. If I wanted to stand I had no other chance but to stand on my bones. Through reaching for something higher I learned about pull-up so strong that there is no chance of falling off. A pull-up of such clarity that it changed my alignment, lengthened and flattened my core and drew my legs away from my pelvis. Movement so soft and strong that any tension of the muscles only got in the way. The moments of the initiator leading and the entire energetic train following in an ever-stretching but orderly fashion. What was left of the man that emerged from the window after each day? Surprisingly there was a boundless energy through relaxation and the lack of effort. A being that had more energy due to not having enough energy to block the flow. A being that had became a channel. A being with a need to hug. So what is left after a couple of hard-working weeks later? There is still evidence of a changed alignment and altered holding patterns. There is certainly more awareness of energy expenditure and an increased capability of relaxation and shedding extra tension. There is also the capability of programming and operating LED moving heads. Err… Say what? Yes. One picks up all manner of interesting stuff from the ether… in a hotel room the night before the gig. The question of degeneration still lingers. Where is my breaking point? Doing Engel for an extended period of time did good things to me, so I should carry on with that process of purifying, but for the sake of finding the true exhaustion I should most likely create another choreography. Engel is actually devised in such a way that the energy circulation built into the choreography helps me to carry on. So the next task would in a way skirt on another project that has been swirling in the back of my mind: a virtuoso spectacle. I’ll probably talk more about that at a later date. For now I’ll just elaborate on how that idea is connected to this quest for exhaustion. The simple truth is that speed kills. In this matter I am not talking as a motorist, but as a dancer, so don’t you go misquoting me on this one. Dancing at a fast pace and executing explosive movements will eventually exhaust the body, making the degeneration of the choreography more visible. So what I will have to do is create a virtuoso solo piece that is close to my physical and technical capabilities and repeat it until the death of yet another man I thought I was. A scary thought, but what good has fear ever done to me before? For this year I have a possible slot in April and another in June. Time to write the project in the calendar and just get on with it when the time comes. So what else have I been up to other than surfing on cosmic energy and eating light? The short answer is: the usual stuff. As in being an assistant choreographer to my old friend Riku Immonen on a piece he’s choreographing for the Finnish National Ballet, doing a couple of run-of-the mill dance gigs, performing Re-Touch at Tanssin Aika festival, getting to know the neighbours and preparing some workshops on emotions and Expansion/Extension. So life is busy and busy is good for a gun for hire. It’s a mentally calming feeling to be talking schedules for the spring of 2015. The spare time is sparse and will most likely altogether vanish, if everything works out. There are some possibly very interesting developments in the horizon. Whichever option works out, it’s all good as long as I remember to sleep, eat and take care of my body and mind. Even with all this purification transformation I guess I still haven’t quite managed to exorcise the spirit of Buzz Lightyear… To the infinity and beyond!

Summer workers in Everwhatgallery

Summer workers in Everwhatgallery also spend exciting time while working.

We meet a lot of people who are interested in art and passengers who drop by with curiosity.

During break time, we also become artists. We are singers. we are dancers and we are performers.

We get inspired by visitors and artists and we learn h ow to express ourselves as well.

And here is Everwhatgallery.

The flame, Liekki

 

Some thoughts after watching "Liekki"

 

 

Antti Kairakari's movie called Liekki, (The Flame) is starting with many numbers of people dancing. Their dancing images are transparent and overlapping which make them to look like human flame.  As they continue dancing, it looks like they are trapped in one body. They are all together dancing in one place, but all the individuals' dances are different. Their eager movements starts to be seen as resistance to escape from the body to be free. Their desires are shown in various motions from human bodies. As time passes and their dances reach the climax, we can see the dancers finally get out of the trap one by one and find freedom, by disapearing from the scene.

The dark background, the beautiful dances and calming music bring mixed feelings towards human beings and art.

Quiet moments in Everwhatgallery

 

It has been very rare to have silence in Everwhatgallery.

However,the warmth of people never disappear. It stays every corner of the gallery.

.

With the warmth,

Everwhatgallery has atmospheric rooms to bring out our artistic curiosity.

It looks like the place is meant to display the works of Everwhatgallery.

It just fits so well all together.

The harmonious lighting and darkness and the cavelike walls can put us into the right place to experience arts.

.

Come and, tell us what you experience, what you feel and what you think!

After all, there won't be quite moments anymore.

Everwhatgallery, 2nd day

Vaatu spreaded flowers and plants all over the room. For long time, the fresh fragrance of greenness filled Everwhatgallery.

Vaatu was communicating whole time with audiences, involving them in her performance.

I really thought everyone planned to do beforehand to lie down and sing.

It was so natural and people who Vaatu led to her dance, looked so comfortable.

Today, she tought me to smell a new scent, that we all made together.

Everwhatgallery, 1st day

Since the door was open, a lot of people visited Everwhatgallery. Many of my friends also came to see what Everwhatgallery has. One of my friends, who has lived in Finland for quite a long time and has experienced Finnish society a lot, was so surprised to see Lauri Ahtinen's works that speak out hard issues in the world and Finland today.

She said "Finally, somebody is talking about these!, I want to talk to the artist!"

Fortunately, Lauri was yet around the gallery and the conversation started.

Was it about his works telling foreigners' voice? politics? manhood? art? expression?

Well, I don't know. I could only assume from their face.

However, I am sure that their long discussion has influenced both to Lauri and my friend, and even to us, who gathered today at Everwhatgallery.

Our first day, began like this, with a lot of voices and sounds mixing together.

Oulu, full of opportunities

Oulu, full of opportunities

A lot of foreigners in Oulu have trouble getting close to Finnish people or Finland. Well, that is at least what I have observed while studying in international programme in University of Oulu. I think I have talked more to, and spent more time with non-Finnish people than Finnish people, which brings me a lot of questions like “am I really in Finland?”. We, with my friends from different places in the world, were discussing a lot why it is so difficult to mingle with Finns. Is the wall of Finnish language too high? Are Finns too shy or are we shy? Whatever the reason is, it is true that we need to put some more efforts to get involved in Finnish society. 
 .

Everwhatgallery’s first week starts with the theme " Finland 98 ¾"
  .

It actually means a lot more to me while reminding all the feelings towards Finland. Till now, I have had lots of worries and fears about getting excluded from the Finnish society. I probably have not tried enough to get out of my comfort zone. But there are always chances and I am so happy and grateful to get this opportunity to work in Everwhatgallery. 
 .

Thanks to the city of Oulu and Whatevergroup,Antti and Antti.

.

This one month is going to be a very new experience to me.

I am learning everyday something new from Antti and Antti, the crews,us  , the artists and people who are visiting.

So far it has been a great experience and 

Oulu definitely has a big open door for everyone, wherever they come from.

The open door

The door is finally wide-open to welcome people and dogs;), or all creatures in the world. 

It is a gate to go down into the deepest point of your mind.  

Come down and meet new people and art!

Under the door

Under the door, 

there is a stair leading to the basement where you can find the special moments.

Everwhatgallery : The door yet closed, but the journey already began

The door yet closed, but the journey already began

On a beautiful day of summer in Oulu, Finland, there is a mysterious door to be open soon.

Behind the door, there are people who seek an adventure.

"Everwhatgallery" is going to open for this August to gather all artistic ideas and creative minds in Oulu.

Everyone is welcome to open the door!



Uusi Seurahuone

If you come to the market Place in Oulu, you can easily find a beautiful building with neo-renaissance style desgined by  a architect Hugo Neuman.
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The story of Uusi seurahuone

The centre of Oulu town was destroyed in a massive fire in 1882. The same spark that set the town on fire ignited Sea Captain Johan Fredrik Petrell’s idea of building a private house near the seaside. Consequently, the construction of Petrell’s own palace was completed two years later. Today the building is known as Uusi Seurahuone.

The roots of Uusi Seurahuone

Uusi Seurahuone is a neo-renaissance building designed by Oulu-born architect Hugo Neuman. The building was owned by Consul Pentzin and then by Judge Lundberg before being transferred under the ownership of Teräs Ltd. hardware store company in 1902. Many older Oulu people still remember the building as the Teräs Building.

The era of the architects

Teräs Ltd. owned the building for nearly 80 years. The Oulu City Board decided on the preservation of the building just a few years before it was sold to  construction company Insinöörityö in the early 1980’s. Before the new owner was even disclosed, the University of Oulu Department of Architecture had expressed the willingness to rent the building for academic use. The department’s wish was granted. Soon the street level of the building housed a library and exhibition rooms, while the second floor contained a lecture room, a seminar room and laboratory work spaces.

New winds blow

The building had thus seen many walks of life before a new, noteworthy page in its history was turned in 1999 with another ownership change: Head Invest Ltd. began extensive renovation and restoration work on the premises. Uusi Seurahuone welcomed its first guests in 2001. Since the autumn of 2010, the host of Uusi Seurahuone has been restaurateur Tommi Tuhkanen.

http://www.uusiseurahuone.com/en/uusi-seurahuone/history/
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Uusi seurahuone provides coference rooms, ceremony rooms and nice restaurant.
This summer during August, the basement of the building will be used for a gallery to provide exciting experience to artists and visitors.
This is a Place that you should definitely check out!

Oulu, a city full of energy

If you are looking for interesting adventures, you are in the right place.
Oulu is a city full of culture, art, creative ideas and energy with people from different backgroudns.

"Oulu is an active city full of culture. Numerous theatres, museums and exhibitions delight culture enthusiasts throughout the year. Classical music lovers are sure to enjoy the concerts of the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, for example, and rock and light music fans are treated with frequent club gigs. During the summer, various outdoor events and summer theatres extend the cultural offering even further.

Traditional art is complemented by new city culture trends – game culture and film and media arts are all well represented.

The City of Oulu owns the seven biggest cultural institutions: the City Theatre, City Library, Oulu Museum of Art, Northern Ostrobothnia Museum, Oulu Symphony, Cultural Centre Valve and Science Centre Tietomaa.

Several amateur and private companies and guest performers enhance the city's cultural diversity. "

(The official site of City of Oulu : http://www.ouka.fi/oulu/english/culture-and-library)

This place is to share diverse sides of Oulu  

Let's start the journey!