Feeling Ready in Finland

I thought that I had better warm up the blogspot for the other members of the group - its probably feeling rather neglected now...

At the moment I am in Finland, staying with Edwina. It is a holiday really, but also a chance to escape from the chaos of England, stresses of work and deadlines and emails, to sleep more, feel calmer, talk through ideas and thoughts, and feel more creative as a result of doing so. This is my second visit to Finland, last time it was hugely productive and paved the way for Live Art and Performance to become part of my practice.

Photographs taken on my walk around Riihimaki today

I had been getting quite moody in England because i can never find the time to research and develop my creative ideas, we're always rushing about so much. But within my first morning in Riihimaki with Edwina, i had brainstormed and developed an idea for "State of Readiness", something that i could not even come close to in the past four or five months.

Im still developing it, and trying to put my ideas into a cohesive proposal for the group, but here are some of the things that are anchoring my proposal;

• games
• rules
• signals
• diagram
• mass
• movement
• waiting - uncomfortable pauses
• anticipation of what will happen next
• play
• exercise
• order / chaos
• responding to commands

I would like there to be two aspects to my work; 1) a public participation performance which is somewhere between a game such as stuck in the mud, an exercise routine and military commands for movements and also 2) a dvd which is interactive, and has a similar quality to dance mats used with video games, the dvd will give commands for movements relating to ideas of anticipation, being poised for action, and uneasy moments of stillness.

This is the first time that i have made work for such a public place, our audience will not be the same as one would expect at a white-cube gallery, so i would like to make this piece playful and engaging for families, and to give my audience a sense of participation, perhaps tying in an event. Im also thinking about Flash Mobs and surreal actions that happen in mass, come out of nowhere and disperse just as quickly.

So many thoughts! Thank you Finland. Maybe i should come here every time i need to research ideas for exhibitions.

Sam Epps

13.02.2010