Rat City
Live Art and Performance Studies and Mad House Helsinki collaboration .
Rat City was inspired by the encounter between a rat and a human. The moment was unexpected and fleeting, as these situations often are: it was afternoon, the rat was leaning against the wall, the human came around the corner, the human and the rat eyes met, the rat fled. The human was looking for a hole in the wall or a drainage hole in the street, unable to understand where the rat had disappeared to. Somewhere there must be a gateway to another city, invisible to humans.
Rat City is a performance made amidst rat holes, ultrasounds, scents, and affects that float between rats and humans. It is a reflection on the frictional neighbourhood and the possibility of a collegial relationship. Rat City is always where humans are. Humans are always where the rats are.
Rat City is the thesis of Maija Linturi, the convener of the working group, for the Live Art and Performance Studies Master’s Programme (LAPS) at the University of the Arts, Helsinki. Linturi is interested in interdisciplinarity, non-human agency and the dismantling of human-centredness in performance art.
The performance begins at Myllypuro metro station, where the audience gathers. The languages of the night are Finnish and English. The performance will take place outdoors and include a walk to Myllypuron täyttömäki. Dress for the weather.
Working group
- Maija Linturi
- Sanna Nissinen
- Olli-Pekka Jauhiainen
- Johanes Timothy
- Camilla Anderzén
- Vera Boitcova
- Heli Hartikainen
The work is part of the annual collaboration between Mad House Helsinki and the LAPS program.
Rat City was inspired by the encounter between a rat and a human. The moment was unexpected and fleeting, as these situations often are: it was afternoon, the rat was leaning against the wall, the human came around the corner, the human and the rat eyes met, the rat fled. The human was looking for a hole in the wall or a drainage hole in the street, unable to understand where the rat had disappeared to. Somewhere there must be a gateway to another city, invisible to humans.
Rat City is a performance made amidst rat holes, ultrasounds, scents, and affects that float between rats and humans. It is a reflection on the frictional neighbourhood and the possibility of a collegial relationship. Rat City is always where humans are. Humans are always where the rats are.
Rat City is the thesis of Maija Linturi, the convener of the working group, for the Live Art and Performance Studies Master’s Programme (LAPS) at the University of the Arts, Helsinki. Linturi is interested in interdisciplinarity, non-human agency and the dismantling of human-centredness in performance art.
The performance begins at Myllypuro metro station, where the audience gathers. The languages of the night are Finnish and English. The performance will take place outdoors and include a walk to Myllypuron täyttömäki. Dress for the weather.
Working group
- Maija Linturi
- Sanna Nissinen
- Olli-Pekka Jauhiainen
- Johanes Timothy
- Camilla Anderzén
- Vera Boitcova
- Heli Hartikainen
The work is part of the annual collaboration between Mad House Helsinki and the LAPS program.