‘A way of me being in the world, being human’

The first UK showing of Finnish artist Pilvi Takala’s contemporary work is currently being held in Lewisham.

Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA) is hosting the artist’s solo exhibition until June 4, writes Claudia Lee.

The exhibition called On Discomfort – sees Takala working through a mix of performance, video, and installations to “stress test” the conventions and codes that govern our daily interactions.

She said: “In my method of working I use moments of discomfort mainly in social situations, how we deal with norms and behaviours.

“For me that is productive space because that is where we can question, why do we have discomfort? What is the problem ?

“How do we organise ourselves and how do we create community?

“It’s a way of questioning what we’re used to, what is unspoken and what we think is normal. It’s just a way of me being in the world, being human.”

Through these performative interventions, she brings to the surface the implicit rules of specific social situations by disrupting them.

In one of the works on display, The Trainee and The Stroker, Takala tests the limits of workers tolerance of behaviour that disrupts office culture.

She said: “People reacted to my performances in negative ways a lot.

“I chose to not perform efficiently in the office for example.

“I just to sit and think which in theory should be okay in that kind of workplace but I knew in practice it was not going to be OK.

“I’m quite prepared for the negative feedback and I’m also interested in what ways I would get it, is it just gestures and looks? Or is it also verbal and how will people try to solve a situation?”

In Close Watch, she reverses the situation of being the subject of the attention of security guards.

She got a job with Securitas, employed in a shopping centre for six months to follow how the security force worked.

She then used a form of forum theatre to enact and discuss the problematic behaviours that they face in their fast paced and stressful working environment, but which often go unaddressed.

The work investigates power structures in some of the interactions we have daily, in public and private spaces.

Takala said: “There’s a lot of things that can be improved about our society but I don’t think I can do that alone.

“With my practice it’s a lot about asking more questions and opening up things that seem self-evident and that’s hopefully a start for a conversation and then I think collectively we figure out what is better.

“My position as an artist is not to come and say ‘we should do this way’ or we should do this this way.

“It’s about starting a conversation not providing answers.”

Goldsmiths CCA director Sarah McCrory said: “Showing Pilvi Takala feeds into the CCA’s mission of hosting world-class exhibitions of international artists to showcase the best in contemporary art, and to support established and emerging artists at our wonderful gallery in Lewisham.”

Picture: Still of Pilvi Takala Close Watch, Picture: Carlos Ishikawa and Stigter van Doesburg