For a long time Peer-to-Peer has been taking place in various galleries around the city of Helsinki. Now it’s time to get the event back to its breeding ground, Cable Factory.

Next Peer-to-Peer Review will bring together three different art forms: dance, photography and literature. We will have presentations of three new artistic projects by photographer Sarah Ritter, choreographer Kôsei Sakamoto and writer Teresa Flavin.

Hai ga furu (Ash is falling) is a performance for five Finnish dancers. This is the latest production choreographed by Kôsei Sakamoto, director of the acclaimed Kyoto-based dance company Monochrome Circus. The choreography is based on the Japanese poem Hai ga furu (Ash is Falling) written by Tatsuji Miyoshi (1900–1964) in the forties after the atom bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This cynical outpouring from the pen of an otherwise lyrical poet is astonishingly topical in the wake of the recent Fukushima nuclear disaster. Questions and fears related to nuclear power are not just part of history – they are still frighteningly relevant today. Kôsei will talk about his latest project and will be accompanied by Takayuki Fujimoto, who is in charge of lighting design in the Ash is falling –project.

Teresa Flavin is Glasgow-based children’s book author and illustrator. She is participating in a HIAP/Suomenlinna residency with the support of the Scottish Book Trust, Creative Scotland and the Arts Council of Finland. During her residency she has been working on the third book in her historical fantasy trilogy for young people. She has also been exchanging information on literature, publishing, education and book selling with Finnish professionals in these sectors. The title of Teresa’s presentation in the Peer-to-Peer is “Forging the Sampo: Making Stories of Magic and Mystery”. She will talk about making the transition from illustrating to writing, about exploring the history of art, myths and magic to write stories for contemporary children, and about the connections she has made with Finnish children’s literature during her stay.

One can define the pictures of Sarah Ritter first of all as being on the edge: on the edge of portraiture which pays maybe more attention to posture than to face, on the edge of a scenario that refers to space and its pleats. Image does not account for something, but rather suggests without asserting. Photography becomes dramatized and gains the potential of fiction. Beyond depiction, the photographic language is that of evocation – of building a scenario cluttered up with the images’ secrets. Sarah’s project in Helsinki is an exploration of encounters in the heart of the city life: “During my stay in Helsinki, I’m taking pictures on long walks in town. I’m also looking for people who let me follow them a bit during their daily life. My aim is to build a series that I hope to be full of feeling, urban poetry, and mystery.”

Beside the artists’ presentations, Zodiak’s Director of International Relations Harri Kuorelahti will talk about Zodiak Center for New Dance.
Anu Laitila from Lukukeskus (The Finnish Reading Center) will also join the discussion.

After the event, guests are welcome to see Kôsei’s new performance Ash is falling in Cable Factory’s Pannuhuone at 7 pm. Tickets are sold at the door one hour before the performance, if places are available. To make sure to get a ticket, please contact zodiac(at)zodiak.fi, and request a ticket for Ash is falling for the special Peer-to-Peer price of 10 euros.