Verbal Art

This month I am not releasing new interviews, so instead I am looking back at the year that passed and the 45 episodes which are already available in the archive. I summarise each episode, expanding on themes and techniques, to help you pick & choose episodes based on your specific interests. Even if you have already listened to all my previous episodes, you might still enjoy these reflections & recommendations, as I reminisce on the podcast thus far and add extra bits of retrospective info and thoughts here and there. In this first part I also talk about what kind of podcast listener I consider myself to be, and I give a thorough, pedagogic tutorial on how I edit this podcast (and make up a lot of metaphors to describe what a compressor does).S.W.E.A.T. podcast

A short New Years greeting from me in Copenhagen, with a small public-service announcement of how the podcast is continuing after this holiday. Thank you for listening, talk to you next year! For questions, comments, or other feedback, write me on verbal.art@protonmail.com

I meet Oskar Partanen in Annantalo in Helsinki, to see his solo exhibition Self Titled and talk about his cute but eerie sculptures that move and make sounds. His creatures live side-by-side in one room, but somehow seem to all exist within each their own universe. We talk about repurposed items, pragmatic choices in materials, and Oskar explains how he has hacked electronic audio devices and built motorised constructions to give his figures life. We get into childhood dreams, discuss how children might be better art critics than adults, and reflect on how to make work that speaks adult language in a child-friendly way. Also, on this episode you hear me speak a bit more Finnish, we have an actionpacked live-moment with an artwork, and we have a surprise cameo of Marloes van Son's interactive sound work!Oskar's InstagramAnnantalo's websiteOskar's exhibition on Annantalo's websiteMarloes' website

Today on the podcast, I have little treat! As a Christmas present, I made a live recording of an exclusive, improvised Christmas collage concert! I am layering five Finnish Christmas cassette tapes, all played on old, analogue tape players, to sculpt a new old holiday sound for you to enjoy while you are waiting for Christmas Eve. There is a lot of old gold in the mix, but everything is in Finnish and played simultaneously. A very merry, morphed X Mess Mashup, to all of you from every me <3

I return to Asbestos Art Space in Helsinki, to see Kamila Śladowska's solo exhibition Growing Interconnectedness, which has turned the gallery into a surreal painting installation of water, plants, and morphed shapes of naked, human bodies. Kamila tells about foraging herbs and finding inspiration in nature's ecosystems, and guides us through her assemblage of deconstructed paintings and sculptural elements. She explains how her art is an existential and political tool to deal with topics such as ecology, sexuality and gender, and how growing up in a country dominated by oppressive Catholicism has created a need for rebellious commentary within herself. Kamila also tells a bit about how she relates to the concept of hydrofeminism and how water is an essential element in her work, and we get to hear a small concert on her collaborative hydrophone Herb Brew Instrument (this is best heard with headphones or decent speakers).Kamila's websiteKamila's Facebook pageKamila's InstagramAsbestos' websiteAsbestos' Facebook pageAsbestos' InstagramAnd the Herb Brew Instrument collaborators:Robert Prakapovich's InstagramMark Reid Bulatovič's InstagramKristīne Tukre's InstagramWanda Kamińska's Instagram

I meet Paola Fernanda Guzmán Figueroa in Oodi library in Helsinki, to talk about her video work Nanita, para siempre. Paola explains how her Colombian roots grew stronger while living in Finland, and how she keeps a close connection to her family by making them a focal point in her art. We discuss different techniques for working with film- and video, and Paola talks about the process, and feeling, of making one thousand drawings of her grandmother for the animation film projected in the library. We also talk about showing art in public spaces not created for exhibitions, and how an audience reacts differently when they are surprised by art rather than looking for it.Paola's websitePaola's InstagramKino Club's InstagramKino Club's Facebook pageOodi's websiteALA Architects' website