2019
3 double-sided lightboxes with 6 canvas prints, black aluminium frames
1300x2000mm each
Edition 1
(Available also in small prints.)
One day I realized that I have three pieces of clothing with rabbit hair decorations hanging in my closet. The clothes that I used to wear without any second thoughts started to raise uncomfortable feelings.
Why another life had to come to an ending because of my vanity?
The double-sided triptych is produced in three lightboxes that connect it to commercials and the consumer culture. On the other hand, the title and the form of the work suggest a connotation to Christianity. The work challenges us to review animal rights; do other than humans have only instrumental value, or do we recognize them as having intrinsic worth? Do I take part in exploiting others, or do I chose to protect all life?
Technical production: Jussi-Pekka Arkkola
Assistent: Satu Järvinen
Thank you: Arna Valsdottir, Juhamatti Niemi-Kapee, Arts Promotion Centre of Finland
Exhibited:
17.4.–2.5.2019 Paavali Church, Helsinki
Everyday meditations contains five everyday actions performed in slow speed, but which are presented for an audience through videos in 1000% speed. The work can be installed in various locations. Five videos played in loop, duration 6 minutes.
All the videos can be also viewed in YouTube.
The inspiration for my Everyday mediations experiment came from a text fragment that I received from my friend and artist colleague Ville Lampi. The sentence “Give extra attention to spreading butter on the bread” was a starting point for my first video documentation of slow motion action which I performed and recorded 21 January. The first action and the video recording of it led eventually to four more experiments in the following days 22-25 January.
All the actions were performed by me at my home and without an audience. I recorded the actions with my iPhone. I am fully aware that my experiment contains two radically different entities. The live actions were only present and meaningful for me. The video recordings of these actions are published in YouTube and available for anyone to watch. It is also important to notice that the original acts were manipulated by changing the speed of the video to ten times faster than the actual action was. There are countless different possibilities to experience, to interpret and to analyse these acts and their representations.
I have always been interested in investigating pedestrian movements also in my works of performing arts. I like to combine everyday actions to more abstract expressions in my dance/physical theatre works. I am also interested in butoh and meditation practices. I believe that performer’s presence depends on her/his ability to focus on conscious awareness, especially to bodily sensations, instead of psychologizing or rationalizing all actions.
Exhibited
21.1.2014 Pori, Finland
23.–28.11.2015 Esityskauppa, Tampere, Finland
2016
two channel video installation with monitors
without sound
loop 23 sec & 33 sec
Exhibited
2.-23.12.2016 Break a Brain festival, Koskikeskus, Tampere
© Raisa Foster, 2019