a tribute to the song I hate most

It's ofcourse the Candy Shop....


...by 50 cent! I made him into a lollipop. Song goes something like this " Welcome to the candy Shop...lick you like a lollipop"



My candy jacket!


My chocolate pants!


Whole outfit and ready to go. This tribute was part of a performance organized by our tutor Mark McGowan. And the performance was part of an exhibition "Alternative Risk Transfer" at The Rag Factory. There was a tv screen in exhibiton space and camera inside a small closed space. People took turns and went into that small space to do their performances. Camera was rolling all the time and whole thing was shown on that tv sreen. Hopefully Mark will put the thing on you tube soon so I can put a link in here.

Why I did what I did: Well I really do hate that song. It is probably the most sexist thing ever. The whole bling bling hip hop culture gives be creeps. Guys with bling and money, golden teeth and fat rings in every finger surrounded by bootylicious women in tiny bikinis. The women shake shake shake and are well, only sexy. It's porn basically and the most extreme excample of this all is Candy Shop by 50 cent.
So I hate the song. Hate is a good source for innovation. Much better than love or just liking something. Hate is such a strong emotion. It makes you angry. You have to have good reasons to really hate something. All this makes hate a bloody brilliant tool to work with! And it was fun. I shaked my chocolicious booty like there was no tomorrow!

if I was a man....

See, there is a clear similarity between the MAN me and Kurt Cobain! Clearly!


As a man I needed to have my beard shaven by a real barber. So I went to one. This is the place I chose and me waiting for my turn.




My mum told me that my name would be Niko Teemu Taneli, if I would have been a boy. It's not that funny in English. It is a very embarrasing name, I can assure you. I was never really girly girl and now I am not the most feminine woman either. Still it was rather tricky to try to be like a man convinsingly. I went for a metrosexual type....That's what I would be like if I was a man.

Sweden versus Finland

This is the performance by Miriam and I on Speakers Corner. It is filmed from inside the massive cardboard telly, the one shown in previous post. We are demonstrating the relationship between 2 nordic countries: Sweden and Finland. It is a competitive relationship and well seen on icehockey games. Nothing is more important than have a victory from your neighbouring country.

Building a TV

This is the TV I build for our "Sweden versus Finland" performance. It shows a hockey match between these 2 countries. Our assistant and camerawoman Sara went inside the TV to film us who pretended to be fanatic icehockey fans watching the game.


Sara inside TV measuring the perfect place for the camera hole.


Me cutting the hole for camera.

Me in my Finnish icehockey fan outfit ready to go. Speakers Corner here we come....

The Stig

My film tries to have a slap on a face of over manliness; the MAN culture that idolises super MANLY things. Well it is just bit silly. And even though I consider my self as feminist I do actually like Top Gear. I think that Jeremy Clarkson and the other guys have probably the best job in the world. The sad thing is that it is all seen as masculing stuff. They should defianetly have a female presenter too. I am available....if BBC is interested.

Miriam and the tree

2 fridays ago Ana Laura made us to make location related performances there and then. The very second she had finished her sentence Miriam(who was sitting next to me) jumped up and started rushing outside with a vision. Me and Sonali (who was sitting close by as well) couldn't do anything else than follow her. She wanted to climb up a tree in a park near by. She had seen that tree several times and felt strongly that this was her chance to fulfil her dream. As you can see from this bad quality video, she failed. I managed in the task though! Well done me! Miriam wasn't happy with the failure and eventually tried to climb on everything and anything near by like the grave stones. It was a fun afternoon moment....

Deep Play Dark Play

Last friday we were asked to play deep and dark. I was forced to go to work. I decided to fart for work and everything annoying in this society.
Why it is a cat farting on my face? Well, it was easier to draw than human for example. And cats are often associated to women and women are not supposed to fart. Well I can prove that both women and cats do fart.

making of "The Sloth"

This is me in my sloth outfit infront of the chosen location(church in Crouch Hill). Main part of my outfit were my long claws . They made me look bit like a monster I guess. My camera man was Lee, my boyfriend. He also helped me with the whole idea. He is really into fucking the system and got rather excited by idea of laughing at religion. Our more ambitious plan was to film all of the seven deadly sins as animals in different churces. For example lust as rabbit etc. Guess I was bit lazy in the end. I chose SLOTH anyways!
I really wanted my film to look and sound like a nature documentary. I am big fan of those and I love David Attenborough. It took me 1 afternoon to record the voice while trying to sound a bit like him. It is tricky for a female... I thought that it would be ridicilous contrast to represent something like a sin as a scientific fact. Our society does deal with religions with surpising respect even though we should KNOW better.

The Sloth

This is my animal film. I am a sloth, one of the seven deadly sins.

My Fight

I was eleven and I was in trouble all the time. I spoke too much and I was too loud. My teacher wasn't my biggest fan. He ordered me outside the class room every now and then. Not because I was teasing someone but because I was pretty loud and had opinions. This very same teacher decided to start a computer club but it wasn't for all the kids, it was only for boys! I was furious. I wasn't particulary keen on computers but I couldn't understand why there would be a club only for boys. I fighted loudly and got a sort of victory. As a result girls were aloud to the club too. No other girl seemed to want to go there so I was there alone. It was mortifying. All the computer geek boys and this teacher staring at me. So it wasn't the gratest victory but I am proud of it. I am proud of eleven year old me fighting the system, fighting against unfairness and stupidity.
So here I am now 17 years later in a different country facing a challenge of performance art course. Why I am on this course? Is it the big narcist in me or is it the girl who doesn't want to shutt up when she feels like she has something to say. It is both I guess. I just hope that I still have the same courage than that young me had. I hope society hasn't made me to its blind slave yet. I like to fight when there is unfairness but I do not agree with violence. I rely on humour even and especially when it is risky. If you joke about institutions like church someones gonna bloody hate you. But that is the point really.
I am sure I'll have fun.