RESISTANCE:
AN INTERVIEW WITH HINNI HUTTUNEN AND JEMINA LINDHOLM
Hinni Huttunen and Jemina Lindholm met with Third Space and talked about their project Resistance, which took place in Third Space from the 11th to the 20th of June of 2017.
Here is what they shared with us:
What does the artistic process means to you and how do you see this process in Third Space or even while forming your work? What are the essential elements for you creating art?
The artistic process to both of us and us as a working pair is on ongoing chain of thoughts where work and leisure are blended together. We both have our own artistic practices and our processes vary in many ways, but when we are working together the artistic process is shared and ideas and conventions are combined.
Sometimes certain interests in different subjects lead their way into an artistic process that ends up into becoming an independent work of art. We are often interested in the same subjects and decide to collaborate on them. We believe that working as a part of a collective or as a part of working pair is a more effective way to solve problems (artistic or practical or related to any humane situation), because working together is based on a constant dialogue, where you have to formulate your thoughts, emotions and desires all the time. These continuous conversations IRL and online (a very important sphere of working for us) form the core of our artistic process: we map out our shared passions and interests and share different points of view on them.
Our work as individual artists, feminists and as a working pair is also based on certain values that we believe in and those values also shape our artistic process and practises. For example while working with Resistance (2016) we, the group on the video and our film crew were committed to the rules of safer space during the film set. We have also spent a lot of time in thinking about the power relations that are always related to working with moving image and filming other people.
TOP 5 key elements of our collective work and artistic process are:
1. Careful planning, dividing and scheduling of all the to-do’s
2. Being honest of your own schedules and resources
3. Good internet access
4. Listening of what the other(s) have to say
5. Similar sense of humor and taste in visual aesthetics
Considering title of your work “Resistance”, when it comes to art and your work’s context, how do you see this concept relevant in contemporary art related to the societies where we live in? Finland or Sweden? How do you perceive yourself in the society when it comes to resistance?
Art is a source of comfort and rebellion. It is important for us to use art as a way to make space for other kind of ways of living that break and make visible the prevailing norms and power structures of the society.
Resistance is a representation of solidarity, revolution and drumming as a form of activism. The drumming group playing on the video is part of a global drumming network titled Rhythms of Resistance that that supports everyone struggling against exploitation, discrimination and oppression. The different groups play samba music in different demonstrations and direct actions all over the world. As artists our work is based on the same values and we believe that contemporary art is an important part of the resistance against fascism and right-wing nationalism.
Have you had any public performances of drumming and what has been the most astonishing part to you?
We are not part of the drumming group on our Resistance -video. We have attended in various demonstrations where we have heard this and similar groups of drummers play as an act of resistance to the unequal society and the constructions that are increasing the inequality. The artistic process that lead to this artwork started during these demonstrations.
It’s outrageous that it is still necessary to attend and arrange demonstrations that are related to very basic human rights, for example the right to self-determination of gender and our bodies. One of the most astonishing parts is the engagement to human rights and social activism, the straightforward and hands on attitude towards for example creating different platforms that aim to safer spaces and expressions of solidarity for those who are in the need of it. It is empowering how drumming takes over the public space and affects the atmosphere of the demos.
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