Two regional artists from the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Krista Petäjäjärvi and Aura Seikkula, invited me and three other artists – Artor Jesus Inkerö, Harry Salmenniemi and Niina Vatanen –, as artist-experts to participate in The futures of aging project, together with eight “ordinary” experts. This was a joint project of the Committee for the future of the Parliament of Finland and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, started in the autumn 2020. First the “ordinary” experts pondered upon the futures of aging, then we artist-experts pondered upon it on the basis of their texts, after which we pondered upon it all together. Finally, on the basis of our ponderings, Krista and Aura wrote a report for the Committee for the future of the Parliament of Finland. There was an exhibition of our art works at Pikku-Finlandia, Helsinki, in April, 2022.

I sketched a work with three parts. The parts were Herd, Anemone dance and Tree of families. In the exhibition there was only the sound installation Herd for which I wrote a short manifesto. The text can be read on the picture above, only in Finnish, unfortunately.

The idea for the Anemone dance came from Kirsi Törmi’s text. The living conditions of an anemone define, what the animal does (the animal in us, that is to say, in an anemone, makes it behave like this; its behaviour is not its fault): whether it opens to the world as a flower, letting water and nutrients enter its organs, giving it energy (safe environment), or closes oneself as dense, flat plate, small, withdrawn, almost inconspicuous (danger, against the wall or floor). I thought a performance à la Tino Seghal: exhibition guard would stand up from their chair, now and then, opening to the world as a flower.

For the Tree of families I asked friends, who belong to their families. I got wonderfully many answers, nearly one hundred! I crafted leaves of green cardboard and wrote the answers on them. Exhibition visitor could have written their own family on an empty leaf, and attach it to the tree. The manifesto starts ”Let’s imagine a house that reminds of a tree.”

Many many thanks to everyone who participated! I wish you happy aging!