Erkka NissinenPolis X, 2012 Nissinen works and lives in Helsinki, Hong Kong and Amsterdam. He studied at The Slade School of Fine Art in London and gained an MFA degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki in 2001. In 2007 he went to the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam as an artist in residence. Recently Polis (Pilot) which is a shorter version of Polis X was shown in Museum Boijmans van Beuningen in Rotterdam. Nissinen combines acting in the studio with computer animation. From the press release of Ellen de Bruijne: In Polis X several absurd characters inhabit an utopian city, pretended to be designed by Le Corbusier and Albert Speer. The cast ranges from a plumber and a bear to porn actors and even politicians. They possess grotesque names like “Stupid Cunt”, “Pig Shit Tit Ass Sailor” and “Boring Fuck”. All inhabitants are in some way confronted with their ethical and moral position in the social construction which makes up Polis. They have to make choices about methods of interaction with other inhabitants, and decide if they want to communicate with them at all. How are groups formed, who will be excluded, and for what reason? Other inhabitants philosophize about completely different matters, like the connection between platonic solids and human characteristics, living in the now, the question about being, and the paralyzing power of the presence of unlimited possibilities. Though absurd to the point of nonsense and often obscene, Nissinen’s work is far from being meaningless. Rather, it discloses a critical take on the difficulties of social interaction, on philosophy, and on the language of media -such as children’s television, educational programs, or porn, often all mashed up into one. In Polis al these come together, using parody and slapstick comedy to create awareness about current political |
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