“BOOK OF ROOMS”
Huoneiden kirja took place in Turku, in an old lithography building in August 2021.
A group of one hundred artists transformed an empty building and its surroundings into a multidisciplinary performance and art installation. The voluminous piece was filled with poetry, theatre, puppetry, dance, music and visual arts. It was an immersive multi-sensory experience one steps into.
Huoneiden kirja (Book of Rooms) was based on a book of prose poetry by Saila Susiluoto. The abandoned, wind-battered house consisted of 64 rooms – a number that equals to the amount of symbols on a table that served as a peculiar map for the building. The Book of rooms was an adventure that offered a break from the real world and a plunge into a fictive, yet equally tangible one. The house lured one in, to wander and to explore the unknown and the unexpected. Like the girl in the book, every person entering the Book of rooms asked a personal question from the house. And by flipping a silver coin, they could find out which one of the 64 rooms in the house would– in its unique way – answer the posed question.
I worked in this project as a room artist designing and constructing the room nro 34 (The Hunter´s Room). It was a installation with small figures, miniature room inside a wardrobe, where one person at a time could step in.
I took part in the project also as a performer in the roles of Vanha taulukko and Hovimestari.
The project got Finland´s State Prize for Performing Arts in 2021.
Core working group:
Johanna Latvala, Laura Naukkarinen, Venla Luoma, Maiju Tainio, Lee Lahikainen, Jarkko Forsman, Riikka Mäntymaa, Urmas Poolamets, Sara Koiranen, Sinimaria Tomperi, Pia Puustelli, Maria Laitila, Jesper Dolgov, Jenni Sormunen and Jussi Virkkumaa
Produced by:
TEHDAS Teatteri, Aurinkobaletti ja Aura of Puppets.
Book of Rooms was part of 10 years anniversary of Turku European Culture Capital.
Pictures: Jesper Dolgov
Laura Hallantie 