Residencies
I’m Talking to You
Elena Mazzi is a visual artist based in Venice, Italy. Her collaborative work is based on methods of visual anthropology and participatory observation. The dimensions of geography are of importance to Mazzi, whose projects are often realised in specific localities that are dealing with drastic changes.
Mazzi’s residency project I’m Talking to You is looking at reflections and reactions of global crises in the local daily life of a Northern Helsinki neighbourhood, Maunula. The focus is on the media contents and devices which connect locals to the global communication spheres, and which they also use to envision their feelings about the world.
During her residency, Elena Mazzi first got to know the people of the Maunula neighbourhood by frequent visits to the Saunabaari community centre and various local meetings and events. In these meetings, the artist initiated a dialogue about how the participants feel about the media and their possibility to affect the world.
Seven of her new friends invited Elena to their homes with a videographer, who recorded them watching a newsreel compiled by the artist. The participants were encouraged to talk back to the media, and their voiced reactions to the news will be amplified on the soundtrack. The final piece, a multi-channel installation, will premiere in Helsinki in 2017.
Elena Mazzi’s residency was realised in cooperation with Helsinki Artist-in-Residence Programme HIAP.
Special thanks to Kalle Kuisma (videography).
COMMUNITY_ Locals with various backgrounds
ART FORM_ Visual art, media art
CONTEXT_ Collaborative Media Art Residencies Helsinki
