You are walking and you approach a Swamp. You make a choice and the blueberries are bluer than ever before.
Suo – Kävelyn tiellä (Swamp – Walking Within the Frame) leads the participant to the edge of the mire, where a traditional relationship with nature and modern technology meet. Experienced in Oulu’s Sanginjoki, the work is not a traditional performance, but a dive into restoring nature. The work is a major international co-production between Reality Research Centre (FIN) and Ferske Scener (NO), created in collaboration with partners including Cultural Co-operative ILME’s “Täältä taiteeseen” (Here to Art) travel agency.
The journey takes you deep into the swamp
Art does not wait for the audience in an auditorium but it takes them on a journey. The performance begins at Cultural Centre Valve with a shared bus ride, which serves as a rite of passage from the hustle and bustle of the city towards the silence of the mire. The journey is an essential part of the work’s dramaturgy and preparation for the unknown.
Why the swamp in particular? Artistic directors Kristina Junttila and Maria Oiva see the mire as a powerful part of Finnish mythology and politics, both historically and today. Sanginjoki’s mire area and the surrounding old-growth forest are not merely a backdrop, but active participants. The area also has a fascinating history: it once served as home ground for the Gaialand community, which sought an alternative lifestyle. This historical layer gives a particular sharpness to the work and the power dynamic it explores. It serves as a reminder of how humans have always tried to find their place and way to live amidst nature.
The paradox of technology and nature
At the core of the work is a question that touches every modern human: can a smartphone, which is usually seen as an alienating factor that disconnects us from nature, actually deepen our presence?
“When it comes to the mobile phone, we are interested in the ways it is part of our lives and whether it even has the potential to enrich our relationship with nature,” the working group reflects. However, there is a clear paradox attached to this: the manufacturing of smartphones and the rapid growth of digital technology are part of an industry that irreversibly destroys nature. The performance does not offer easy answers; instead, it invites the participant to live within this contradiction. In Sanginjoki, where the mire is currently being restored one spadeful at a time, the encounter between technology and the elemental mire feels particularly meaningful.
An individual experience in the embrace of the mire
Although the journey is made in a group, a large part of the performance is experienced alone, guided by the Zoneatlas application. This gives the participant a strong sense of autonomy and space for their own observations. The soundscape of the work is created by Oulu-based Paavo Impiö, whose local knowledge and expertise in using environmental sounds make the mire a living companion. “Sinking writing” by writer and performance artist Seija-Leena Salo, along with the artists’ work, creates a world where every step feels like it is taking you deeper into the mire.
Behind the work is an extensive international and local network.
Info https://todellisuus.fi/suokavelyntiella/.
Tickets 22 / 14 € https://www.ticketmaster.fi/event/suo-kavelyn-tiella-swamp-walking-within-the-frame-lippuja/1925960186
