Boat Performance/Installation and Upcoming show in SF

On June 12th, our vessel made its maiden voyage on the Syvärauma Bay carrying drawings collected from the people of Rauma of objects that could not be left behind. We acquired an old boat through an article written in the Lansi-Suomi about our recent activities in Rauma. The boat had at least five holes in it. The Office of International Cooperation is not in the business of boat repair, but collectively, we have done our best to resurrect this vessel make it sea worthy. Band-aids have been added, and a new motor has been constructed from a variety of new looking old motors from classic American cars. It is now installed at The Rauma Art Museum as a special exhibit for Mita Meri? (What's Up Sea?) Rauma Biennale Baalticum. The work will be on display for the duration of the summer.

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

From Rauma Blog

Show in San Francisco

While in Rauma I was contacted by the MCCLA in San Francisco to contribute to the "Today" exhibition. The curator asked each artist to write the word 'today' in any way and in any language. I saw it as a clear connection between the work I have been doing in Rauma and chose a variant of the Rauma dialect word for 'today'.

The Rauma dialect is often described by other Finns as “peculiar” or “exotic”. It has gained a special reputation as being unique among the other southwestern dialects and many locals even consider it a separate language. Seafaring has been for centuries one of the most important sources of income and of livelihood in Rauma. In the past local sailors and mariners spent not days but consecutive months or sometimes years offshore and overseas. As a consequence, the Rauma dialect is said to include plenty of words with English, Dutch, Swedish, German, and Russian origin. Although the dialect has standardized, many distinctive features such as a drastic shortening of words and a fast syncopation can be found everywhere in Rauma. According to one expert, in the old Rauma dialect, people pronounced (and still do, in fact) the word ‘today’-‘tänään’ as tänäpä or even tänäp. This dialect, sometimes even referred to as a language, is being actively preserved in Rauma and some smaller towns outside of Rauma. Its origins come from the writings of H.J. Nortamo, who wrote extensively in the dialect about all things maritime.

The word is written in water-born pigment with water from the Baltic Sea on paper from the paper factory in Rauma, and is preserved (like the language) using 2 layers of boat varnish and 1 coat of fiberglass resin, also for boats. I also included a Band-Aid sticker from a project the curator and I did together at the Pomona Swap Meet car show. I thought it was funny how much effort people would put into their cars to preserve the original parts.

Tänäpä is a variable edition of three, numbered and signed on the back.

From Rauma Blog