softbed
solo exhibition/twitch stream performance
Kosminen (Pursimiehenkatu 13), Helsinki 7.12.-22.12.2019

“It was year 1972. Acclaimed performance artist Vito Acconci embarked on a durational performance / installation called ”Seedbed” in a Manhattan gallery in New York. Visitors of the piece encountered an empty room with a sloped floor. Underneath the floor construction was the artist, masturbating while narrating his fantasies about the people walking on top of him.

It is year 2019. I want to do a durational performance / installation that would be the polar opposite of Acconci’s work. Let’s call it ”Softbed”. I want visitors to feel cozy and welcomed, not threatened or abused. I’m very tired of macho performance pieces and toxic masculinity. I also don’t want to be present in a physical sense in the same space as the visitors. That’s why I’m Twitch-streaming myself into the gallery.

During 2019 I have got a lot of solace from different streamers that just chat whatever, while gaming. Live Twitch streams give a sense of presence that feels comforting, even when people are talking about pretty mundane things. I feel that the medium is interesting and it could be well used in art context as well.

With my stream I try to discuss soft things, fragile things and feelings. The stream also includes different pictures, text, sounds, music and videos that link to the topic. I’m streaming every day the gallery is open (Thu – Friday 14-18, Sat – Sun 12-16) and you can also watch if from home: www.twitch.tv/softbed_. There is also the possibility to chat with me in real time through Twitch, if you have comments or questions.

At the Kosminen gallery you can find a spatial installation related to the themes of the stream.”

JS

Documentation photos by Lotta Blomberg

 

Screen captures from the Twitch performance: