ympyrät, jotka kuvittelevat olevansa viivoja (circles that imagine they are lines) examines disorientation as an everyday and fleeting bodily state. In the work, the recognizable and the unrecognizable, the located and the unlocated, being here and otherwhere, are simultaneously present—parallel, intertwined, and equal.

 

A constant companion throughout the process has been Queer Phenomenology (2006) by feminist author and independent scholar Sara Ahmed. Inspired by Ahmed’s thinking, the work explores, among other things, the capacity of objects accumulated in the depths of pockets to direct action, the orientations created by repetition, and above all, the inhabiting of disorienting moments and approaching them as sites worthy of exploration.

 

Through this work, we propose that the world can also be inhabited by settling into a flow of continuous change and by letting go of the familiar, the safe, and the known. The piece utopianizes a place where being otherwise, curiosity toward the unknown, settling into a sense of wobbliness, and "tunteilu" (affectivity/sentimentality) represent life at its richest.

 

The choreographic and movement-based thinking of the work has emerged through Somagics, a somatic-phenomenological performer’s practice developed by Laura Jantunen. At its core is an intimate and precise relationship with sensory perception, the diverse sensations of the body, and the changes within them, guided from within the mover. Jantunen has been developing Somagics since 2022 as part of her artistic processes and communally through Somagics Laboratory dance classes.​

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Composer Leevi Räsänen's process-based approach avoids predetermined outcomes, evolving instead through constant stretching, moulding and merging. Räsänen’s music for strings is built from flexible modules, recorded in advance and woven into the choreography as rehearsals progress. The sonic dimension thus emerges from a fragmented, displaced state.

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Jantunen's working group consists of long-term collaborators, enabling shared artistic thinking and collective sensitivity.

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Choreography: Laura Jantunen
Performers: Pauliina Sjöberg, Pääsky Miettinen, Hara Hermunen
Composition: Leevi Räsänen
Sound design: Mitja Nylund
Lighting design: Ilmari Paananen

Involved in the creation process: Arttu Halmetoja

Music recording: Armi Lampela

Musicians on the recording: Aino Szalai (violin), Ida Kosonen (viola), Eeva Rysä (cello)
Costume design: Talking through our bodies ja Soft_Art_by_Laura_Nen
Intern: Sonjis Laine
Production: Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Laura Jantunen, Et alia
Residency: Ehkä Production
Supported by: Kone Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Samuel Huber Art foundation

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Black & white photo: Aapo Huhta

Performance photos: Jussi Ulkuniemi