We arrived at the residency house at the end of the day on Friday very tired after two taxis, two planes and two buses. Baby Cassius managed the best whilst mum and dad were struggling, hungry and wishing we packed biscuits to tied us over until we found the nearest supermarket. We were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful green surroundings and massive studio. The accommodation is basic although everything works, it’s clean and tidy. Baby is fascinated with trees so this is a lovely experience for him. Living in our small flat in Manchester there is little greenery and we are making the most of being outdoors. On Saturday we made our way by bus to the city of Tampere. Particular locations to hang my banner were recommended to me and we managed to see two spaces. Both locations are close to each other, one place being the park and the other railings on the bridge across the canal. I like the idea of the park more as I feel people may spend more time engaging with it than on a busy bridge. For a Saturday I was surprised by how quiet it was. I asked why this was and it was said that people are most likely to be in their gardens or the forest. I get the feeling that Finnish people love the outdoors and shopping is not the main leisure activity.
Later in the day people started to line the streets and I wondered where everyone had come from. A samba parade was dancing its way through town. I wasn’t sure what to make of it and the public didn’t seem to engage with it apart from reaching for their phones to take a picture. The carnival costumes were well made and performed professionally, although it did feel like we we’re being performed at rather than with. Do people really engage with large public spectacles like this? We visited the TR1 gallery which was showing photographer Marja Pirila, Carried by Light. Her work focuses on light and how it enters a space. The exhibition was a mix of photography, sculpture and installation my favourite being hanging steel buckets with lenses in the base that you could look through. By using traditional photography techniques she creates photoshop type effects in real time and space. It is Sunday today and I have been struggling to access wi-fi on my iPad. This means that I will be writing my blog on my iPhone which is not ideal but do-able. Tomorrow I meet with OFF to discuss further best locations for my research performance which will take place later this week.
