Pyhä kaaos (A Holy Chaos)

Pyhä kaaos (A Holy Chaos), SIC

A liminal space is a kind of limbo between two states of being. Pyhä kaaos (A Holy Chaos) seeks out unknown futures, hiding spots, immersion, ruins and new traditions. If the system only offers strict roles, Pyhä kaaos begs to answer whether it is possible to get rid of them.

The human species daily evokes conflicting feelings that are hard to handle — it has enormous potential which is unfortunately wasted in spades on a daily basis. Man is self centered, arrogant, lazy, wasteful, unempathetic, aggressive and destructive — all the while backing up his actions with an incomprehensible array of fictitious justifications.

Then again, the spectrum of human life can be dazzling when viewed from a distance as a generalized mass — our travels across history are nothing short of heroic in this cold and empty universe.

At their finest, art and science help us understand humanity objectively, in more comprehensible fashion, sometimes even in the form of proper entertainment for the escapist in all of us.

In day-today life, the human individual is a hard mess to understand; moody, hard to interpret, dull, loud and sweaty. Then again, the human individual seems to flourish in a written fictitious state — delving into a well thought out fictitious world can easily make one lose track of time.

Thoroughly honed, distilled, well packaged and crystallized thoughts — be it books, articles, plays, exhibitions, recordings, concerts, movies or any other great works of art and science — are the epitome of humanity. One can experience many eras and time scales through such works — consuming and analyzing culture can be as addictive as any drug out there.

Pyhä kaaos is a part of the Helsinki University Art as a Work and Working Tool project, carried out together with Kiasma’s URB festival. The contents of the exhibition is gathered from material assembled by researchers and the workgroup.

Working group

Sauli Sirviö, Elina Izarra, Are Nikkinen, Niroz Haji, Sawuli, Iita Järn, Jani-Matti Salo, Mark Niskanen, Tomi Visakko, Liisa Raevaara, Marjo Savijärvi, Annika Turunen, Jonna Malaska, Katja Orpana, Laura Ihalainen

Supported by Kone Foundation.

Thank you: Koneen Säätiö, Museum of Impossible Forms/Ahmed Al-Nawas, Mikael Aaltonen, Niina Tervo, Arto Tommiska, Bogna Luiza Wisniewska
Documentation: Tuomas Linna

Alkumetreillä (2018) Publisher: Kiasma Theatre-URB Festival & Art as a Work and Working Tool project. Edited by Elina Izarra & Sauli Sirviö. Texts: Mikael Aaltonen, Elina Izarra, Sauli Sirviö, Marjo Savijärvi, Tomi Visakko. Graphic design: Rastapunka. Pictures: Veera Konsti, Kira Leskinen, Tuomas Linna, Susanna Kesänen, Liina Aalto-Setälä. Fonts: Mikko Varakas. Printed in Livonia Print, Latvia (200 copies).