Space:
Hanna Ryti – convener, director and writer
Ina Niemelä – lighting and video design, animations
Anne Karttunen – set and space design, building
Heini Maaranen – set and space design, building
Julia Lappalainen – writer and actor
Kimmo Siren – building
Petra Hakkarainen – set design intern
Marja Uusitalo – knitting
Oona Niemelä – sewing and light help
Veera Vienola – production intern
Revolution! is a theatrical installation with very few rules (please take off your shoes and take care of your friend!) One is free to touch, experience and play with the signs of power and empowerment. Take your space between a giant and soft wobbly bits or sit on a tongue in front of words.
The working group interviewed 12 six-year-olds to ask how do they understand power, and if they had it what would they do with it. The answers were concrete and we took that seriously. Hands – represent the power of muscles and violence, closeness and greatness. Eyes – the power of overlooking, seeing and judging. Also the magnificent power of an approving gaze was in our minds. Ears – listening or shutting out, trust and secrets. One enters to the space through a giant mouth – that is the gate for words. But the entrance goes inside a person, where the words are secondary.
If the first room is the room of body parts, the second room is the children playground in the world of wealth and power, where one can swim in a pool of candy wrappers, build a castle of soft golden coins and diamonds, draw the walls and make a mark. However all this is overlooked by fearful looking clay faces.
Power, responsibility and caring has been re-evaluated among the working group as we contemplated our own attitudes towards children, and how our own childhood experiences have shaped and are shaping our perspectives. In the world of children the line between arbitrary adult rules and structured life that creates the feeling of security is thin and fluid.