
Two performances, the first I make as a spectator, the second as an artist.
A popular actor parks his big, shining black Porsche on the street, gets out, dressed like people dress when they take their dog out on bad weather, and enters café. He buys a cardboard cup of coffee and exits. Picks a coffee cigar out of his pocket, and noticing that the bench is wet takes his rain pants from the car. He puts the rain pants onto the bench and sits on them. After drinking his coffee and smoking his cigar, he goes to the car, phone on his ear, tosses the rain pants onto the backseat, sits behind the wheel and drives away.
A bit later I go to my studio, to the Firehead’s cave, and dress up as Firehead: red and yellow contact lenses, blackening of the front teeth, attire. The wind is brisk, and it’s raining sleet. I walk as Firehead, under an umbrella, to the tram stop. In tram I chat with a guy who presents himself as Hullu-Henkka, Crazy Hank. Now and then, he sips from his rum bottle. I don’t understand his talks about percents but he says I look cool and leaves the tram in Sörnäinen. I keep grinning, showing my black teeth, while trying to keep my eyes as large as possible. I step out of the tram at the Central Archive. Walk around the House of the Estates, where the government is negotiating the state budget, and stop by the statue of Snellman, facing the House of the Estates. I keep moving peacefully, grinning to the rare passers-by for couple of trams’ time. Then I walk to the tram stop and travel back to Vallila, not talking to anybody. Maybe Henkka would have liked to hear a poem. I must remember to ask next time, if my discussion partner would like to hear one.