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“The X and the Y of Reality, Z Gone Missing” is a collection of spoken word pieces created in the form of raw voice messages sent to a recipient unknown to the listener. The recordings are accompanied by visualizations written in an ASCII art inspired format, eventually to be printed out into booklets or large prints to showcase as part of a multisensory experience. The format allows us to perceive human experiences as data while hearing them in the form of authentic emotion. In an exhibition context, the project will be accompanied by a nature soundscape recorded at the Arvo Pärt Centre – or rather in its surroundings – juxtaposing the highly digital and technical style of the recordings and visualizations with our most instinctive audio observations from nature.

The piece aims to create what feels like a personalized experience for the listener, the person receiving my message. Through the recordings, I aim to show vulnerability and openness to another (unknown) person and explore the limits of what feels comfortable to share with another person. The work brings attention to the fact that we as a society are constantly convinced to communicate openly, while during the process authentic vulnerability is often overlooked or frowned upon. I want to emphasize the importance of speaking our minds – in depth – to create meaningful human connections.

The questions that the work aims to raise are for instance the following: Is the message meant for me or for another person? How does our communication differ when targeted to ourselves vs. to another person? How does it feel to approach ourselves with the same compassion as we would another person? In order to truly focus on one’s inner world, I find it crucial to find a working place to quiet down, connect with oneself, and get grounded with nature. Thus, I believe the residency at the Arvo Pärt Centre would be the perfect opportunity to get truly started with this piece – not to mention the feeling of home when being surrounded by nature so similar to the home environment I grew up in back in Finland.