Catalogue > Un extrait vidéo au hasard

Land of Dreams title is a translation of a much loved Finnish tango ‘Satumaa’, which Heidi Kilpeläinen sang during her two Tango Therapy performance tours at Refugee Centres and war invalids and their widows homes in Finland (2017/2018). On this tour Kilpeläinen also invited the participants to sing back to her, in their own languages. The performances were filmed and edited into a 3-channel video installation and a shorter, single channel video. Songs and encounters with people from Iraq, Yemen, Syria, Afganistan, Somalia and Eritrea – to mention a few – combine with accounts of Finnish war invalids and widows talking about their experiences of the war between Russia and Finland during the second World War. Tango Therapy is a performance in which artist Heidi Kilpeläinen sings to one person at a time, sitting on opposite chairs, while rest of the audience listens and follows the performance. Anyone from the audience is welcome to sit on the chair as it becomes free. It is an intimate and personal performance of songs, mainly of Finnish tangos, with no technology or amplification. The focus in the performance is on the human presence and eye contact. Understanding Finnish language is not necessary, it is the melody and the sentiment which communicate beyond the boundaries of language.

Heidi Kilpeläinen (HK119) explores crossovers between visual art and music merging their boundaries in 'total works of art' and creating combinations of video, installation art and performance. Her work is equally inspired by the contemporary world and its technological fascinations, as well as the ancient, mythological forms that run through collective memory. She produces works of aesthetic interest with a critical eye on our social environment, reflecting on our human Heidi Kilpeläinen (HK119) explores crossovers between visual art and music merging their boundaries in 'total works of art' and creating combinations of video, installation art and performance. Her work is equally inspired by the contemporary world and its technological fascinations, as well as the ancient, mythological forms that run through collective memory. She produces works of aesthetic interest with a critical eye on our social environment, reflecting on our human condition within it. In recent years she has focused her attention to understanding the effects of transgenerational trauma and transformation as alchemical process. Kilpeläinen has widely exhibited and performed in galleries and prestigious institutions, with a rich record of participations in shows and festivals, such as Rajatila gallery, Tampere (2021) Od Arts Festival, Somerset (2021) Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (2019 / 2005) Kajaani Art Museum, Kajaani (2019) Tate Modern / Tate Exchange, London (2018) Camden Arts Centre, London (2016) Beaconsfield Gallery, London (2016/2015) Performa 07, New York (2007) and New Contemporaries, London / Liverpool (2004). She has also released 3 albums under the title HK119 (One Little Indian Records, 2005 - 2013)  and has performed internationally in music venues, galleries and museums such as Tate Gallery, Victoria & Albert Museum, ICA, Casa da Musica and Kiasma.