Wallflower is a video based on a performance situated in dance-events for Finnish tourists that are a version of the traditional Finnish summer pavilion dance. It is mostly older couples on their holidays that come to these events; they dance only with their partners and don't ask strangers to dance, as that would be inappropriate in the proper dance-events in Finland. The performance is a subtle act: just the artist, a younger woman, going into the dance in a shiny dress and sitting alone the whole evening waiting for somebody to ask her to dance. Just her being overdressed and obviously expecting to get to dance creates a very awkward situation and pushes back the boundaries of the modest Finnish mentality and the Finnish idea of politeness. Everybody is embarrassed for the lonely girl’s sake, but nobody thinks they are the man to ask her to dance.
camera: Hans Rosenström, Juha Laatikainen
thanks to: Siri Baggerman, Tero Laatikainen, Karol Kallas, Haide Rannakivi, Jukebox OÜ, Jukka Sauramäki i Victoria
commissioned by: Galerija Rael Artel: Neprofitni projektni centar, Pärnu, Estonija
Supported by Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki; Finnish Institute, Tallinn and Estonian Cultural Endowment
