Plant Based Stories is a three-year project that has travelled from Kuopio to Helsinki and Hanko. During the process, a metamorphosis has taken place: the touring story-collecting performance led to songs and an installation and has now transformed into a planted public artwork in Hanko 2024.
The artists have created something they like to call an “audiovisual plant monument” in the city of Hanko, consisting of several individual sites and a map to help find them. The sites consist of a specific plant or landscape/situation and a sign with a QR code; the viewer can simultaneously listen to a song based on the plant while looking at it.
Real-life stories related to plants were collected from the general public, and these personal encounters between people and plants have been composed into unique songs. The map helps you find 12 selected plants with soundtracks that you can listen to on your phone.
Check out the map below or download the map as a PDF file. There are also physical maps available at the festival centre.
The work will be officially launched on Thursday, 6 June at the Plant Based Stories III live event. Join us!
Mirella Pendolin (1975) is a half-Finnish and half-Spanish music professional; singer, musician, pedagogue, and composer. Pendolin trained as a singer at the Trondheim Conservatory of Music in Norway and has since then been performing and publishing her own music as well as participated in several jazz/pop groups, composed music for various artists and theatre performances, and served as a choirmaster and a vocal pedagogue. Recently, she has been releasing her own music in a style that lies somewhere between pop and jazz with electronic and ethnic influences.
Pia Sirén (1982) is a visual artist who works with large-scale temporary installations using common construction materials, as well as sculptures, performances and collaborative projects. Sirén creates her artwork both in public outdoor spaces and in exhibition spaces. Her works form entities that materially and spatially engage the viewer, allowing them to step into the installation and become a part of it. In 2012, Sirén graduated with a Master’s degree in Fine Arts from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited in numerous private and group exhibitions both in Finland and abroad.
Ilona Valkonen (1980) is a visual artist whose working approach involves suggestions for alternative ways to look at and understand the world. Valkonen works with new forms of painting, collegial curation and a performance concept created through collaboration, Vieno Motors. By now, over 60 artists from various backgrounds have contributed to the different Vieno Motors actions that combine plants with creative methods, and their number is constantly growing. In addition to Finland, the performances have taken place in cities like Reykjavik, Berlin, New York, Graz, Saint Petersburg and London.
Ada Katz (2000) is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and composer. Their work is focused on using the language of music to document and communicate emotional states that might otherwise be left misunderstood.
Working group: Pia Sirén, Mirella Pendolin, Ilona Valkonen, Ada Katz
Supported by: The Swedish Cultural Foundation in Finland, Konstsamfundet, Finnish Cultural Foundation
Plant Based Stories is part of Kulkue, a joint project between three Finnish art festivals. ANTI – Contemporary Art Festival (Kuopio), Hangö Teaterträff (Hanko), and Baltic Circle (Helsinki) create an exceptionally large-scale series of Finnish co-productions along with related tours. The project’s central goal is to promote the accessibility of the festivals and to prolong the life cycle of the performances. The project is financed by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.