Wallflower, 2006
video
duration: 10′ 25″
camera: Hans Rosenström, Juha Laatikainen
thanks to: Siri Baggerman, Tero Laatikainen, Karol Kallas, Haide Rannakivi, Jukebox OÜ, Jukka Sauramäki and Victoria
commissend by: Galerija Rael Artel: Neprofitni projektni centar, Pärnu, Estonija
Supported by Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki; Finnish Institute, Tallinn and Estonian Cultural Endowment
Wallflower is a video based on a performance situated in dance-events for Finnish tourists that are a version of the traditional Finnish summer pavilion dance. It is mostly older couples on their holidays that come to these events; they dance only with their partners and don’t ask strangers to dance, as that would be inappropriate in the proper dance-events in Finland. Everybody is embarrassed for the lonely girl’s sake, but nobody thinks they are the man to ask her to dance.
Pilvi Takala was born 1981 in Helsinki, graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2006 (MFA), was artist-in-residence at Rijksakademie, Amsterdam 2009-2010 and won the Dutch Prix de Rome 2011. Her solo exhibitions include Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm; Carlos/Ishikawa, London; Site Gallery, Sheffield; Künstlerhaus Bremen; Kunsthalle Erfurt, Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Turku Art Museum; Kunsthalle Lissabon; Sorlandets Kunstmuseum, Norway; Galerija Miroslav Kraljevic, Zagreb; Frac des Pays de la Loire, Nantes. Her work has been shown in group shows in Palais de Tokyo, Paris; The Kitchen, New York; Kunstlerhaus Stuttgart; Warwick Arts Center; Harris Museum, Preston; New Museum, New York; 53rd October Salon, Belgrade; TRACK, S.M.A.K., Ghent; The LUMA Foundation, Arles, France; EVA International, Limerick City, Ireland; Kunsthalle Basel; De Hallen Haarlem; Wiels, Brussels; 4th Moscow Biennial; Witte de With, Rotterdam; CAC, Vilnius; 4th Bucharest Biennial; Eskilstuna Art Museum, Sweden; 5th Berlin Biennial; 9th Istanbul Biennial; Platform Garanti Contemporary Art Center, Istanbul and Kunsthalle Helsinki.