Author Archives: Johanna

About Johanna

artist and curator

Iceland…

was great. I absolutely loved it. Here are some images of the trip.

Gullfoss:

gullfoss1.jpg

iceland2_pos.jpg

The Geysir area was quite magical. I have never seen a hot spring that shoots up the sky every couple of minutes. The images of this are quite ridiculous of course, it was quite amazing to experience this.

iceland3_pos.jpg

geysir7_pos.jpg

geysir1_pos.jpg

geysir3_pos.jpg

geysir4_pos.jpg

geysir5_pos.jpg

geysir6_pos.jpg

iceland4_pos.jpg

iceland5_pos.jpg

iceland1.jpg

Thingvellir; Iceland is situated on the boarder of the tectonic plates of America and Europe which are slowly drifting apart. This was another absolutely magical site:

thingvellir1_pos.jpg

thingvellir2_pos.jpg

thingvellir4_pos.jpg

thingvellir5_pos.jpg

thingvellir6_pos.jpg

thingvellir11_pos.jpg

thingvellir3_pos.jpg

thingvellir7_pos.jpg

thingvellir8_pos.jpg

Blue Lagoon:

bluelagoon2_pos.jpg

bluelagoon4_pos.jpg

bluelagoon1_pos.jpg

bluelagoon3_pos.jpg

bluelagoon5_pos.jpg

and a few more from Reykjavik:

reykjavik10_pos.jpg

reykjavik11_pos.jpg

reykjavik12_pos.jpg

reykjavik13_pos.jpg

I went to see this great performance called mammamamma in which my frend Thorey was acting. I loved the performance, not only because of the pink. It really made me cry.

mammamamma1_pos.jpg

mammamamma1_pos.jpg

mammamamma2_pos.jpg

It was an intense week, meeting a lot of artists and organizers, seeing work as much as I could. The only downfall of the trip was a 13 hour flight delay on the way home which caused maybe a little too much stress caused by lack of sleep and getting home almost 24 hours later than planned.

Johanna

The latest column

Mitä on onnellisuus?

Katselin Euroviisuja Islannissa, jossa muutaman päivän ajan Reykjavik hoilasi ”This is my life…I don’t want to change a thing!”. Viisuviikonloppu osui samaan ajankohtaan kuin koulujen päättyminen ja ylioppilasjuhlat, joten Islannin finaalipaikka nukenkasvoisine diskolaulajineen sopi tunnelmaan hyvin. Euroviisufinaalin ajan koko Reykjavik oli autio, mutta sen jälkeen kadut täyttyivät ylioppilaaksi päässeistä nuorista ja muista koulunsa päättäneistä. Hetken aikaa muuten järkevästi tuulelta ja sateelta suojautuvat islantilaiset tepastelivat vaaleissa coctail-mekoissa ja korkokengissä baarista baariin. Nuorten This is my life –biletystä oli kadehdittava katsella. Mikä onni, helpotus, ilo sekä usko tulevaisuuteen heidän kasvoiltaan paistoi! Viikon Islannin matkalla pohdin, miksi islantilaiset ovat tilastollisesti maailman onnellisin kansa. Se on ymmärrettävää siitä näkökulmasta, että Islanti on rikas maa ja ihmiset keskimäärin hyvin toimeentulevia. Mutta islantilaiset tekevät töitä rutkasti enemmän kuin monissa muissa Euroopan maissa, esimerkiksi Suomessa. Tämä on ristiriita jota en ymmärrä. Selittyykö onni sitten hyvällä ruokavaliolla, paljon Omega 3 rasvahappoja sisältävällä kalalla ja lampaalla? Vai vähäisellä alkoholinkäytöllä (=kallista), säännöllisellä käymisellä geotermisissä uimaloissa joita Islannissa on paljon ja joiden ahkeria käyttäjiä he ovat, leudolla ilmastolla vai hämmästyttävillä luonnon ilmiöillä, joista he ovat hyvin ylpeitä? Tai kenties sittenkin puhtaalla vedellä ja ilmalla sekä pinta-alalla, jota Islannissa on noin 1 neliökilometri asukasta kohden?
Juttelin asiasta islantilaisten kanssa, jotka kertoivat rakastavansa maataan ja sen luontoa. Lisäksi he arvostavat läheisiä perhesuhteita ja kiinteää yhteyttä sukuun. Mutta he eivät halua paljastaa mahdollista asemansa heikentymistä, masennuslääkkeiden suurta kulutusta, elintason ylläpitämiseksi ottamiaan luottoja – vaikka nykyään Islanninkin on pakko myöntää kasvavat luokkaerot ja pankkikriisin aiheuttama uusköyhyys. Mikä siis selittää islantilaisten onnellisuuden, en osaa sanoa. Mutta toivotan kaikille ylioppilaille ja koulunsa päättäville onnea ja rauhaa pohtia oman onnensa palasia tulevaisuuden suunnitelmia tehdessään. Se on monimutkainen yhtälö.

Johanna Tuukkanen

Finnish visibility

Finnish brands I have so far spotted in Reykjavik: Marimekko, Iittala, Ruskovilla, Tonfisk Design and Fazer. The only Finnish artists that have come across are Tea Mäkipää and Alvar Aalto.

Update: also spotted Ivana Helsinki, Secco and Golla.

Johanna

Strange morning

… I woke up 5.20 am local time and just couldn’t sleep. So I decided to go for a jog by the seaside. It was quite windy but beautiful and although I haven’t been able to exercise for more than two weeks because of my flu, it felt ok. Somehow the seaside, its plants and the views remind me of Azores.
Yesterday was a full day. I met one actress, Thorey, and she has set up some meetings for me with local artists. I also went to two galleries, walked a lot around the city and went to Kringlan, a huge shopping mall outside city centre. Kringlan was a big disappointment to me, I guess I wasn’t at all into shopping at Topshop, Adidas or Puma stores, Next, Warehouse etc.! From there I continued to Laugardalslaug, one of the citys many geothermal pools. That was relaxing but a bit strange, too.
I ate a delicious vegetarian meal at the One Woman Restaurant and went to bed.

reykjavik5_pos.jpg

reykjavik6_pos.jpg

reykjavik9_pos.jpg

reykjavik8_pos.jpg

reykjavik7_pos.jpg

Today I’m up for a couple of meetings and in the evening a get together at Thorey’s place with local artists. Great!

Johanna

Views

…from the hotel Arnarvoll’s 8th floor restaurant & balcony in Reykjavik, Iceland

reykjavik1_pos.jpg

reykjavik2_pos.jpg

reykjavik3_pos.jpg

reykjavik4_pos.jpg

I love the Eames plastic amrchairs they have in the hotel, also in the rooms. They are just so beautiful. We need some chairs at our dining table at home and I must say I really like these ones. I have looked at them before and wasn’t so fond of them but I might have changed my mind! They are quite comfy. I definitely prefer the ones with the arm rests.

I’m off to have walk in the Reykjavik city centre. I’m meeting some artists in the afternoon and then might go swimming in one of the thermal pools after that.

Johanna

On the way

At Stockholm Arlanda airport, on my way to Reykjavik, Iceland. Although it’s just afternoon, I’ve been traveling now for 9 hours and have a slight headache. I don’t know if it’s because of the short sleep or lack of coffee. And of course, I forgot my paracetamol at home.
I’m going to see some performances, exhibitions and have arranged meetings with people. I’m really looking forward to all that, and experiencing some of Iceland of course, but more importantly, I’m hoping this trip would somehow enlighten me in terms of my new work that I’m working on. As always, there isn’t enough money to do what I have set myself to do and I’m struggling where to cut. Drop one of the performers? The dramaturg? All the videos? I have already made a cut down budget but I somehow don’t know where to cut any more without changing the work completely.
So, I need to get a revelation concerning this matter and I’m hoping the time in Iceland would help me. I have of course packed my cameras and I’m open to get inspiration for my ongoing interest in the body/landscape.

Johanna

Down with the flu

I was looking forward to a useful weekend but on Thursday I got a sore throat and I’ve been feeling really ill and bad all weekend. Great. I don’t know how I’m going to manage all the work I have to do next week as at this point I don’t even know if I can go to work tomorrow. That’s the biggest challenge when you work on your own; if you cannot do the job, no-one else will.
Anyway, I’ve been just resting, cooking and eating healthy food and trying to get better. We have TALKS & DEEDS coming up next Friday, Gregg will be in Kuopio, along with Davida Hewlett, Pilvi Porkola and Hanna Pajala-Assefa.
There would be so much to do and look forward to. Hope I’m better tomorrow.

See you all at T&D!

Johanna

Hot days

We have been blessed – or cursed- by unusually warm and hot days. The children have had 4 days off and they have fully enjoyed the summer like weather including shorts, sandals, t-shirts and the like. We’ve also had exciting days watching the back yard slowly starting to turn from brown to green and some kind of green perennials pushing from he dirt, growing every day. Last autumn I planted some perennials, don’t really remember what they were. There were some tulips though and they are vigorously growing. It’s kind of amazing. I’ve never had a garden before and I don’t come from a family of gardening enthusiasts so this is all new and strange. But the kids are excited. It’s been almost too hot to work. We’ve done some work on the house though and I worked today setting up a place for the rhododendrons.
green2.jpg green4.jpg green5.jpg green6.jpg green3.jpg
Yesterday I felt really irritated and headed to the gym. It felt a bit ridiculous to work out in the gym when the weather was so great but I really needed it. This morning I went for a jog and ended up training for one and half hour. My calves are a bit achy now but otherwise I felt good and energetic. This was the first time I ran to Haapaniemi from our place via the Saaristokatu. And it was quite stunning. The road is not officially open yet but you actually can get all the way to town by it. The views are just beautiful and as the day was sunny, it was very idyllic. Saaristokatu will be such an incredible improvement for us and others who live in the neighbourhood. I’m already now looking forward to cycling and walking to the city centre. It’s also great for walking and jogging.
As I was a kind of super mom today, doing my exercise routine, cooking two delicious meals and being at home with the family, I was feeling guilty of not getting to do some work I wanted and needed to do. Well, I guess I’ll be more focused on that tomorrow but it’s so hard for me to relax when I know I have work waiting that could be doing now. This is silly, I know, but I cannot help it.
Luckily, in rained in the evening and now it seems a storm is approaching. The shower was needed and very welcome. And after it, an enormous rainbow. The image by Pekka.
steenk-001-low.jpg

Last week I found out I didn’t get more production funding for my new group piece so I have to see how I manage to produce the work with the existing funding. Not easy. If at all possible. Will have to see.

Hope you are well,
Johanna

Sorry

The site has been down due to unknown problems with the hosting company. I’m sorry if this has prevented you from finding what you were looking for!

Johanna

Invitation

I’m talking about ANTI Festival’s experiences of being involved in an international EU-project application in a seminar on Thursday the 24th of April organized by CIMO and the regional arts council of North Savo. You are warmly welcome! See the whole programme (in Finnish) here kutsu_kuopio240408.pdf and note that you should register today if you are intending to participate. The seminar is free.

Johanna