Made during my participation in the Land Arts of the American West programme at the University of New Mexico. https://landarts.unm.edu/.

Machine was made at Big Bend State Park, Texas and White Sands National Monument, New Mexico. It explores the body as a machine, man’s relationship to tools, tools as an extension of self, and the nature versus culture dichotomy.

Machine

KALEN MUTAJA  (July 2019)
A misheard bastardisation of the Finnish word “aallonmurtaja”, meaning a breakwater or jetty.

'Kalen mutaja' was a process based, site specific and collaborative work that explored the disintegration of communication, and the layering and mutation of language and stories. The work is the resulting effort of artists; Inkeri Jäntti, Nancy Dewhurst and Sunčica Pasuljević Kandić. It was made over 10 days during an artist residency on Varjakka island in Varjakka, Finland. This opportunity was organised and supported by the dance company TaikaBox.

The work is based on the rich history of Varjakka island (Varjakansaari). Currently abandoned, the island has been a lively hub for sawmills, an 80’s summer vacation spot for senior officials, and a locally favoured outdoor and recreational area, full of the legends and stories of its rich past. With each artist coming from different cultural, linguistic and artistic backgrounds, inspiration was found in the shared childhood game of 'Telephone'. 

The artwork was a complex, interdisciplinary installation and is documented here in 6 'chapters'. Previous to the residency, the three artists didn't know one another. They were selected by TaikaBox to meet and collaborate. As such, 'Kalen Mutaja' explores not only the artists' correspondence with the island and local community, but also their process of finding a common artistic language and method of correspondence with one another. The images and audio presented here only offer a brief insight into the artwork. For a fuller understanding, please follow this link: 

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/e/2PACX-1vQf_kg03o2MXqFnn44halQi3Fv5_EjZZE6z2z64isdtIWGNT6h0y1JB1uZ29oRPlbgOlaAcb33gXl1c/pub?start=false&loop=false&delayms=10000&slide=id.g65589bc392_3_181. 

The artists have since formed the collective 'Translation Flowers'. This is also the title of the one of the six chapters of 'Kalen mutaja'. 

Chapter 1: Translation Flowers
Using DIY tin can telephones, the artists attempted to communicate words and phrases in their respective languages to one another. Exploring semantics and playing with the Finnish concept of 'translation flowers' (käännöskukkaset) new meaning was found in misunderstandings and misinterpretations. This work is envisioned as a participatory process of collaboration between the artists themselves, the island and local community. 

Chapter 2: Whispers
'Whispers' is a series of photographs; directed, styled and photographed by Jäntti. These photographs serve as an exploration of conversation and communication, as well as the associated barriers. The photographs were printed onto tracing paper, stitched together, and hung in reams around the former Konttori (office) building.

Chapter 3: Warjakansaari Vocabulary
On a coffee table opposite a solitary armchair, the Warjakansaari Vocabulary waits to be read. Illustrated with hand-printed acetone prints, this ‘dictionary’ gives definitions and illustrations for the new words the artists coined during their games of 'Telephone'. 

Chapter 4: Symphony of a Ghost Island
With an ear pressed up close to a suspended tin can telephone, distorted audio recordings of the island symphony could be heard. 

Chapter 5: In Silence Unspoken Words Reside
Tea was set for two on the kitchen table. The cups were inscribed with poetic text, inviting visitors into conversation.

Chapter 6: Ghost stories
Rolls of wallpaper spilled down the walls of the Kontorri building. Upon some of the rolls the artists listed their 'translation flowers'. On others, locals were invited to write their stories and memories of the island - or to invent new ones. The action of writing was essential to this process-based work. Through their participation, the audience themselves created and completed the art. These writings serve as a catalogue and map of the island in its many iterations.

Top image: 
Part of 'Whispers'. Photographed, directed and styled by Jäntti. Dewhurst and Pasuljević Kandić are pictured with the tin can telephones.
Bottom image:
A scan of a page of the 'Warjakansaari Vocabulary'.
Video:
'Symphony of a Ghost Island' audio, played over images of visitors listening to the audio through a tin can telephone.


ArtConnect profiles
Nancy Dewhurst: https://www.artconnect.com/profile/nancy-dewhurst
Inkeri Jäntti: https://www.artconnect.com/profile/inkeri-jantti
Sunčica P.K: https://www.artconnect.com/profile/suncica-p-k

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Nancy Dewhurst