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A Day of Artificial Spring Water Tasting in a Museum preparations for Lappeenranta Art Museum The Surface Holds Depths -exhibition progressing steadily.

Sinne gallery Regel 62 exhibition with Moa Cederberg, Mikko Kuorinki and Nomadic Kiln Group (Monika Czyżyk, Elina Vainio & Eero Yli-Vakkuri) is building up high expectations for next week. The title of our piece is epic 💨 Planetary Consciousness Massage Behind the Ears of the Thousand Winds and Statues of Fire 🌋. We’ll start preparing the work at the gallery on Monday.

As You May Sen­se -exhibition at the Uniarts Helsinki’s Research Pavilion is set to open 12th of June. We are preparing an monumentally vain bore-well with the Institute for Coping With Destruction. Drilling is set start next week. Enjoying In­gest­ing Bod­ies of Wa­ter (2022) Saara Hannula, which is written for the same Research Pavilion framework (a quote below). Reminds me of a fashion district window exhibition by Jesse and Emmi, where they made a dress out of plastic trash to illustrate a eco-mental cycle where antidepressants, pass trough bodies to the sea escalating environmental degradation, which causes more depression.

Through [waters] involvement in intimate encounters and bodily events such as drinking, washing, and peeing, the water incorporates new ingredients: hormones, chemicals, microplastics, microbes, and bacteria. Some of the active pharmaceutical ingredients and other contaminants are filtered out in Viikinmäki, which is the main wastewater treatment plant in the Helsinki region, but many of them remain in the water even after it is “purified” […] Especially hormones, endocrine disruptors, and antidepressants are known to have major effects on the development and behavior of organisms, even in low doses: as such, they play a key role in the evolution and extinction of aquatic life.

Later during the summer a gig at Mitäsmitäsmitä and a reseach-like piece in two phases for Institute of Urban Culture‘s new spaces at the Gdańsk Wasserkunst building with Tea. Fun stuff but a lot of it.

Returning to blogging feels good. Updated an old text on Finnish statue removals (should make it into an article too) and hoping to complete some prolonged writing commissions later in the month.

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We are working to get a modular synthesiser system for public use at the new Center Library Ode. The idea that the library should have a modular came about in an easygoing chat with Mikko. After the talk I wrote an email to the Ode staff and for the past four months I’ve worked with musicians and serious hobbyist in an effort to design a modular system which would suit needs of library audiences (the sound requirements of professionals, artists and hobbyist). The library was excited about our first draft and asked for a more developed proposal. Last night our working group made plans for a complex system and we will present this idea for the library next month. If everything goes as planned there will be synths to borrow too!

Successfully build a Kastle 1.5 and a dip switch controllable splitter/mixer of my own design.

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Accidents happen. I met Mikko in a cafeteria a while back we ended up talking about a public modular synthesizer system which was made publicly available by the Lawrence Public Libary in Kansas City (US). I sent an email to the Helsinki Central Library (Oodi) studio/electronics-department asking if we could get a modular for our upcoming library too. Four months later they asked me to meeting. I invited Rasmus Hedlund to join me because he’s great with modulars. Rasmus recommend Tuukka Jääskeläinen, who joined me for a meeting last Tuesday.

After a cheerful chat with the library crew, they invited us to select modules for a novice-friendly system which fits a 5000€ (+24% VAT) budget! Tuukka is currently in contact with various electronic music associations in Helsinki and I’m in contact with all of my sound-art friends. If everything goes as planned well have a list of modules selected in two weeks which we’ll propose that the library for purchases. We’ll also collect a list of people who would be interested in running educational workshops at the library or act as modular-godparents whom the library staff could consult concerning audio synthesis.

A futuristic military choreography Guard Commander Inspection – Arlington National Cemetery (2014).

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Peter Blasser makes nice synths, some of which are “psychogeographic maps” showing the relationship between the urban, suburban and wilderness. He calls himself Petroleum Bottle because we are just bottles of oil and he is irritated that his wooden synth parts have been cut with a chainsaw. Blasser’s synths were recommended by Mikko.