Artistic Practice

Community artist –  MA Master of Arts (Art and Design) from the University of Lapland

My work as a community artist in eldercare begins with listening. Listening means attuning to people, situations, space and time. Empathy often emerges slowly, through staying present and observing.

My artistic interest lies in what happens between the experiencer and the object. I approach this in-between space by gathering observations and experiences. In the early stages the work often resembles wandering rather than a clearly defined form: short notes, fragments of situations and atmospheres. What matters is understanding the complexity, network-like nature and long duration of processes. Breakthroughs may occur suddenly, but setbacks are equally possible — moments when two steps forward are followed by one step back.

A recurring tool in my practice is a performative interpretation through visual art. I experience the world — both the inner and the sensorially perceived outer world — as a kind of performance from which verbal, visual, musical or performative expressions may emerge.

Within communities the work develops through situations where people can become visible to one another. A facilitated shared space allows people not only to be objects of activity but actors within their own environment.

In the thinking of sociocultural animation, described for example by Leena Kurki, such situations can open possibilities for emancipation. People may begin to see themselves and their surroundings in new ways. Jean-Claude Gillet describes this through the tension between the “hot” and the “cold” worlds: everyday systems may be structural and cold, while human interaction brings warmth and movement into them.

Over time these processes begin to appear in everyday life. Encounters strengthen participation, and communities discover new ways of being together. Change does not arise through force, but gradually — in situations where people are able to meet one another more openly.