Still like dust

Alistukaa, avaruudet,

pienen tähden välkynnälle!

Tahdon loistaa, tahdon laulaa

kiitoslaulun elämälle.

-L. Onerva, “Ihminen”

How to hold on to an “I” that is disappearing?

In the past year, I’ve been experiencing blackouts. What I mean is moments when there is complete, utter silence in my mind. I stand in the world like the quiet between two thoughts.

My blackouts are of two kinds. I have named them so that I can feel in control over something I have no control over. The exorbitant when I am driven by the sheer disbelief, overwhelm and dissonance produced from the reality of current affairs in the world, and the numinous when I experience a complete erasure. Both are spaces of agony and faith. 

Still like dust is a gesture built up by combining these small pieces of silence. It takes the form of a hesitant being in public space, what I call a living poem, that tries to reach a moment when two points of view interchange and give each other in passing a bit of a shock. From the outside, it looks like “there’s nothing to see here”. Should we move along?

PRACTICALITIES

Still like dust will take place in three separate locations on Sunday 14th of September, from 12:00 to 15:00. 

The performer will meet you at the following points at the designated times:

12:00  Old Hietaniemi cemetery, Lapinlahdentie 2

13:00  Ateneum museum, Kaivokatu 2

14:00  White Lady restaurant, Mannerheimintie 93

Participation is free of charge, no registration needed. You’re welcome to join at any location and stay for as long as you wish. 

The gesture will be photographed. 

CREDITS 

Performers: Olga Spyropoulou & Pyry Kantonen

Concept: Olga Spyropoulou

Photography: Pyry Kantonen

Still like dust is part of Spyropoulou’s long-term artistic research project on the Finnish poet Ester Kaarina Nokkonen, one of Olga's heteronyms. It is part of Each day hides a grain of Sunday vol.2, Circus Maximus’ 2025 artist laboratory curated by Candama (Daniela Pascual Esparza). The laboratory is a collaboration with Artists with Evidence and the Architecture and Design Museum, and is supported by The City of Helsinki.   

Olga’s work is supported by Taike. 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 

Thank you to fellow laboratory artists: Francesca Bogani Amadori, Sonjis Laine and João Luís Matos Lopes for your generous feedback. A warm thank you to Ines Montalvao from Artists with Evidence for the inspiring input, to the staff at the Architecture and Design Museum for their enthusiasm, and to Daniela Pascual Esparza for your thought-provoking and caring curatorial process. Thank you to Circus Maximus for hosting a space for uncertainty. My deep gratitude to photographer and curator Noora Lehtovuori, who was the first to capture the essence of Ester Kaarina Nokkonen with her images.