I S L A J A
M E R J A K O K K O N E N
composer, performer, visual artist
performances index
FERMENT : MUTTERKORN
2019was a month-long residency at the Uferstudios, Berlin, in November-December 2019.
Read about the concept and find the whole programm here
I started my artistic practise in the residency by doing research about the theme of baking as a symbol of birthing. read my research consept here.
photo Robert Brandes
First performance: Tendrils
︎merja kokkonen & samin son
listen ︎
︎merja kokkonen & samin son
Tendrils is a performative voice experiment with living sculptures made of wheat protein. On the second and third day after preparation these strings of dough are very soft and strechy. As they dry out, they turn into bone-like sticks.
listen ︎
to our enchanting chant session at Greenhaus Berlin
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Second performance: Breadheads a.k.a shamanistic rolling pins
︎merja kokkonen & tatu rönkkö
in this performative concert we took a shamanistic view of the theme of baking. Wearing masks made of bread and using cutlery and bowls as the sound source, we investigated the sounds of hunger.
listen ︎
to a clip from the performance
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third performance:
our mother the oven
︎merja kokkonen & simo vassinen
in our performance we visited our shared memories of saunas, wombs and ovens in the darkest season of the year. Through music, storytelling and dance, we explored heat, birth, cleansing, purification, disinfection and comfort – as well as breads that do not rise and bodies that are cared for one last time.
our mother the oven
︎merja kokkonen & simo vassinen
in our performance we visited our shared memories of saunas, wombs and ovens in the darkest season of the year. Through music, storytelling and dance, we explored heat, birth, cleansing, purification, disinfection and comfort – as well as breads that do not rise and bodies that are cared for one last time.
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Heart Leech
2019
photo by Yozy Zhang Garvey
Islaja and Simo Vassinen start off their mutual flirtation by considering what dadaism can teach us about life on Earth 100 years after the birth of the movement. Dada chose nonsense as its tool to express emotions in a world sliding into war. Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven lived dada to the most, yet was often neglected because she was a woman.
What are the divisions between living beings that today block our togetherness?
below poems by Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven (1874-1927) reimagined
Dead Season
2019Dead Season was a collaborative production between Showcase Beat le Mot
and Monika Werkstatt
We performed it four times at HAU1 (more info here)
Documentation:
TRAILER
...and the whole performance on
VIMEO
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M_Sessions is offering a contemporary version of Mania D., Malaria and Matador’s music for the 40th anniversary plus the rare originals. Bringing the past into the now and into the future.
with Midori Hirano, ISLAJA, PILOCKA KRACH, Anika, AGF, Beate Bartel, Natalie Tba Beridze, gudrun gut, MOMMO G, Lucrecia Dalt, Sonae
released October 22, 2021
Listen to the tracks and buy the album here
plus check out the remixes by Pilocka Krach, Acid Pauli & c00lm8
Monika Werkstatt
10 female artists from the Monika-Enterprise label travelled from Berlin to Uckermark. They opened up new forms of interaction and creative dialogue which found them falling into a process without any clear beginnings or ends. The end result was a beautiful and sonically rich album.
official website HERE
Read the whole feature/interview on OMNII
read more about the album, listen to the tracks, and buy your DD or double LP from BOOMCAT
Monika Werkstatt at Jewish Museum Berlin
April 26/27 2019
Monika Werkstatt at Berlin Gallery Weekend!
the collective will perform its "Ambient Werkstatt" in various formations inside the installation situated in two of the famous Voids of the Libeskind building.
They will immerse the light installation res·o·nant by Mischa Kuball with electronic sounds. It will be the third experimental live gig in the installation space, following performances by bassist William Parker and Detroit techno mainstay Mike Banks.
more info here
The event takes place at the
Jewish Museum
Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin
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Fotografin Jule Roehr
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Fotografin Jule Roehr
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