Strange poetry and untrained gestures

Emilia Kokko’s Näyttely – Exhibition – Vino potretti is an unfathomable presentation. It is made up of 20 large image portraits, 10 individual demonstrations, asemic marking pen poetry, video prose, soundscapes and oblique sculptures.

The beginning and end of all of the fragments in the presentation lie in the idea of Blob.

“Where Blob is merely a shapeless lump, its fundamental character represents the core of what are unknown or difficult-to-define landscapes. At the same time, Blob can be anything – or nothing – at all. It is defined by its fluidity and is peculiar. It cannot be clarified. Blob represents queer poetics and policies for me. Placed or perched on a stage, Blob represents the questioning of forms and limits. It does not serve but dismantles norms, repeating the process in different ways –  chit-chat and grumbling in place of proposing conventional toasts.”

In her art, Kokko aspires to the discovery of what underlies various structures. At the moment, she is examining the underlying composition of gender constructions.

“Going behind structures/constructions is most intrinsic to what I call poetics in my work. I am interested in what sorts of deserts, wastelands, gardens and barren terrains open up behind each structure. In this way, I think that I can say something fascinating about subjects that engage my attention. Such themes include gender, knowledge, otherness, sexuality, landscapes, language and ego.”

Emilia Kokko received EUR 10.000 grant in 2016 for her project Näyttely ‒ Exhibition ‒ Vino Potretti.