Li Taiga and Jenni Österlund are the artists of the performative documentary “The Totem of our Generation”. Österlund and Taiga built an installation nearby a rubbish dump using industrial waste and ingredients of the local forest. The audio-visual artwork might be situated in a post-apocalyptic world, in which the creatures begin to merge with the waste scattered in their nature and environment. Little by little, they become common parts, background noises and objects of worship.
Li Taiga (b.1998) is a visual artist who explores cycles as well as changes and variations, caused by time, in physical things as well as in ideologies and attitudes. Taiga broadly uses techniques and genres such as performance, installation, sculpture and photography. Often, the starting point of Taiga’s work is ecological sustainability. Taiga has participated in several exhibitions during the last few years and also writes poetry and essays. In recent years, Taiga has spent time in Kautokeino, Sápmi, working closely together with indigenous artists. In 2022, Taiga finished her Bachelor’s thesis in Culture and Arts (Novia University of Applied Sciences), in which Taiga explored the possibilities of using the art movement dadaism as a practice for overcoming existential fear and religious trauma.
Jenni Österlund (b.1997) is a visual artist, performer and producer, using paper and sound as main media. Österlund is working part time as the business manager for an association and residency of contemporary art in Vaasa, with the aim to bring high-quality art to a small town. In the artistic practice, Österlund is working with themes like sustainability, the lifecycle of the material and attitudes towards our environment. In 2021, Österlund graduated from Novia University of Applied science with a Bachelor in Arts and Culture. In the autumn of 2021, Österlund was selected for a residency period in Sardinia, Italy. Österlund’s latest performative work is a sound performance which has been presented both in Finland and internationally.
OAF curators’ comments: “Totem of Our Generation is a performative documentary, which offers the spectator complete immersion into the event. The natural landscape, non-traditional soundscapes, methods of sound production and a meditative atmosphere successfully involve the spectator in the performance.”
Taiga’s and Österlund’s performative documentary is shown at Oodi’s Kino Regina on Saturday 13.8. at 11.00 with an artists’ Q&A conversation, Wednesday 17.8. at 13.00 as well as Friday 19.8. at 13.00. More information:
