Category Archives: Inspiration

MAP OF SCARS in Oulu this week!

I’m so much looking forward to the shows of MAP OF SCARS in Oulu this Friday and Saturday. I’m travelling there tomorrow and we are rehearsing on Wednesday with the dancers, then our light designer Ainu joins us on stage on Thursday and then we perform the piece on Friday and Saturday at 7pm at the cultural centre Valve.
Oh I’m so much looking forward to these three gorgeous ladies go crazy and silly with great self irony!

I’m also really looking forward to experience again some intimate, strong, sensual and physical duets.



And seeing some visually stunning images.



All photos @ Pekka Mäkinen.

Maybe some new scars? Who knows.

It will be just great to get together with Ainu, Pirjo, Sannamaria and Tuovi! And will be good to be in Oulu for a few days.

As I was browsing I found this blog post (in Finnish) about the performance which I hadn’t seen before: http://ledanseurterrible.blogspot.fi/2012/11/johanna-tuukkanen-map-of-scars.html.
Also there’s a post about the ICE HOT quality panel from which was held in Helsinki last December. It’s also in Finnish and you can find it here: http://www.liikekieli.com/archives/5510.

Anyway, book you tickets and come to see us this weekend!

http://www.kaleva.fi/menot/tapahtuma/map-of-scars/967412/?sdate=2013.02.01

Johanna

2012

In 2012 I enjoyed immensely my return to the position of a choreographer in MAP OF SCARS. Directing a piece in which I don’t perform myself was a fantastic experience and I had a great team to work with. So thank you Sannamaria, Tuovi, Pirjo, Ainu, Tatu, Pekka and everyone who was part of that process.
Photo by Pekka Mäkinen.

I also really enjoyed creating Follow me with Rebecca French but was sad how little visibility the audio walk received. In Finland it still seems very difficult to create works outside the mainstream artistic forms and to get media’s or people’s interest to participate in works that are not in the ‘safe’ environment or form. As a contemporary artist, I think this is very sad and depressing.

Although it is sometimes difficult, I still feel that there’s a need and interest for my work and to improve the production processes and overall working conditions, I set up an organization called Live Umbrella with Pekka and Maija. I’ve postponed that for several years but now it’s the time to really give it a try!

I made several work trips in 2012. To Vienna, Gloucestershire, Montreal, Uppsala, Stockholm, Helsinki, Kajaani, London, Brussels…all the trips were really inspirational. The most exciting adventure was however to Montreal and I was so happy to visit the Les Escales Improbables Festival and meet many new collegues there. And my morning run to the Parc Mount Royal was unforgettable! The best teaching experience I’ve ever had was in Brussels at Cifas Summer University.

I had an unforgettable summer holiday with my children in London in the summer. We had such a great time and it was a much needed break for me. Thanks for our wonderful hosts Rebecca, Andrew & VP!!!!!

Although studying can and has been at times really hard and tiring, it has mostly been a true inspiration. I’m so happy I’ve gotten to know new amazing academics, thinkers, theorists and fellow students as well to deepen my own understanding and knowledge in the fields of cultural policy and art theory.

I saw some touching performances. 100% London by Rimini Protokoll, For Those Who Have Time by Maija Hirvanen and In Human Disguise by Eeva Muilu and Milja Sarkola made me cry.

Photo Pekka Mäkinen.

ANTI 2012 was a fantastic festival. It was a kind of a dream come true to have Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, Heather Cassils, Kris Grey, Alejandra Herrera and Jukka Huitila in one festival – not to dismiss any artist at the great festival! Up To Nature project was also a great experience and I was very happy to collaborate with Thomas, Helen, Jon and Gregg on it. It was fantastic that Vilja joined the ANTI production team!

Photo Pekka Mäkinen.

During 2012 I still got a lot of happiness in my daily life from the shoes of Minna Parikka, exercising at Functional Team (now Element Studios), hanging out with friends, good Riesling wines and of course my family. I’ve had some health problems which have annoyingly effected my metabolism so somehow the year has not been a great improvement physically but more mentally and theoretically. And that has been great and more than welcome.

Looking forward to the challenges of 2013!


Happy New Year!

Johanna

 

functional training

if you ever wonder why functional training is the way to exercise… this is why!

Have FUN!

Johanna

I do…

object marriage.

You do not need marriage to live a happy life, to be in a relationship, to commit, to have children or to nourish love. In fact, it’s an institution that discriminates people and increases inequality in society.

In Finland, for example, same sex couples can register their relationship but not marry. People living in a registered relationship do not have the same rights or duties as the people who are married. Registered couples do not have the right to adopt a child together, and it’s been possible only since 2009 to adopt within the family. Also, registered couples cannot take a common last name. These are just few examples, how same sex couples are not in an equal position in the Finnish law and one Finnish politician Oras Tynkkynen has written that it can be compared to a situation where we would have separate partnership laws for the Roma people, for Swedish speaking Finns or for different ethnic groups. Tynkkynen also points out that the current Finnish law leaves some sexual minorities in an inequal position, for example if you don’t identify as male or female.

But marriage does not only discriminate on the basis of gender. It is humiliating that all sorts of forms in Finland require you to state whether you are single, married, divorced, in a registered relationship or in common-law marriage. In all kinds of everyday situations you are treated differently and inequally, social benefits vary on the basis of marital status, couples who own something together but are not married do not inherit each other without special and often expensive special legal arrangements and so on and so on. And sadly, marital status does not have an impact only on your social benefits but in some cases also on your children’s benefits.

So all this, I cannot accept and I do not support.

This is Annie’s and Beth’s 15th wedding and of course I, like everyone else here, see and feel the love they have for each other, for Kallavesi, the Earth and for all of us. My friend Anniina who just got married this year, would argue that we need social rituals and gatherings where people publically declare their love and commitment to each other. This is probably true but instead of marriage, I would like to think that maybe we can imagine something new, something else and create something that spiritually unites and celebrates all forms of relationships and all kinds of bodies.

Like Barbara Carrellas wrote in Reasons “WHY MARRIAGE SHOULD BE ABOLISHED!!!”, I agree that the elimination of marriage would help create a fairer, more just society.

This was my wedding objection at the Blue Wedding to Lake Kallavesi by Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens on September 30th 2012.


This photo by Pekka Mäkinen was taken at the wedding which took place on Queen R on Lake Kallavesi in Kuopio.

Johanna

Montreal in pictures

As you can see, I had a short but intense visit to Montreal. Thanks for the invitation Les Escales Improbables de Montreal!
My morning run to Parc Mount Royal was also unforgettable and the view just stunning:

I met some great people, saw exciting works, traveled for days and ate some good foods! What else can you wish for?

Johanna

Brussels…

It was lovely to be in Brussels. I really enjoyed the Cifas Summer University “Urbi et Orbi – Living Art, City and City Dwellers”. I taught a workshop ‘Activation of sites and interventions in public spaces at ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival’ and participated in a panel discussion ‘Forbidden and Allowed: Art and Urban Law’. There was such a nice group of participants, interested, excited and inspired! I had a great time.
I also got to do my usual Brussels activities such as eating mussels at La Pré Salé, have breakfast at Cafe de Markten, pop in the Cora Kemperman shop and of course, Pierre Marcolini. The trip was short, intensive but also fun. I was also brought to the Chez Maman, THE dragshow gay bar in Brussels with late night shows, since being gay is something normal now a days, and you can even find gay porn if you go to certain sites online. It was a tiny but very busy place and Maman herself gorgeous!


Early morning in Brussels.

On my way to la bellone.

Benoit & Antoine.


My students working on a site specific task.

And another group busy with their task.

Panel discussion on Party or Mind.








I’m not a chocoholic but Pierre Marcolini’s chocolates are the best I’ve ever tasted. Truly amazing! And I just learned that they ship everywhere in Europe…

Johanna

in Kokko1721 residency

I spent four days at the Kokko1721 residency in Kangasniemi in the end of July. I was invited by the owners of the farm, Jukka and Saila and their son Roope. As part of the residency, I contributed to a video diary creating a performance in response to the site, the place and the activities there – being there, sensing and feeling the site and my own body in there. I do not have photos of the actual work I created but it turned out  to be very feminine, sensual, sensory…almost dream like and I did it in a greenhouse.

Here are some pictures from the farm and of some activities there….
I slept in ‘aitta’, a log house without electricity – what a great place to sleep in the summer. Cool and dark!




Performance material…


Strawberry pie…

Virma



I had a great time. Very inspiring. Thank you.

Johanna

in Marjaniemi, Hailuoto


We spent a few days in Hailuoto in the end of July. Justiina wanted to go swimming although it was really windy and not warm at all… and she did swim in the sea! I was also curious to see the new cottages that have been built in Marjaniemi. They are a bit more modern than the traditional fishing cottages but I was expecting them to be even a bit more contemporary. You can have a glimpse of them on the video. The video is not good and the wind makes a terrible sound but the landscape in Marjaniemi is very nice and I couldn’t believe how Justiina just enjoyed the sea…



Johanna

walking at night in London

Justiina & her new shoes at night in London, July 2012.

Oh we had such a great time!

Johanna

a week at home

had been amazing! Time for Kinesis, Pilates, functional training, zumba, running, Nordic walking, a gig of Dave Forestfield, a night out with friends, reading about creativity and innovation, cooking, sale shopping and baking. This does not happen in my normal life – especially during one week!

Inspired by our cup cakes in London, I bought this cup cake decorating set from the sales for my daughter.

So today we made our first ever cup cakes!

Very simple, just with one topping. Let’s see how they taste…

Johanna