WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE? // PERFORMANCE BY JOSEF KA // BUD GALLERY //HELSINKI 2023

WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?

This is my 3D performance inspired by AI, exploring the fusion of AI and Renaissance imagery, curated by Mark Maher, where the exhibition itself was filled with flowers from classical Renaissance art reimagined through AI. I lay on the table while visitors gently glued flowers onto my body. Marlene Dietrich’s voice sang “Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind” in endless loops — soft, insistent, unescapable.

Each hand reaching out, each flower pressed against my skin, slowly created a fragile, living surface. This act, at the intersection of art history, AI, and collective touch, became a quiet gesture of peace and remembrance — honoring the beauty humanity has created through the ages and reflecting on the hope for a gentler, more compassionate world.

Fabulous documentation by Mari-Leena Kuosa @chicpicfix
Presented at the opening of Mark Maher’s exhibition THE GARDEN @markmaher11 at BUD Helsinki @budhelsinki

Immense thanks to the audience for sharing this moment with me, and a very special thank you to Kauri Salonen for the wonderful assistance.

Helsinki, 2023

Published by Josef Ka

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International performance, visual and sound artist Josef Ka blends richly varied influences – everything from Butoh dance to cinematic theory – with her decades of nomadic world travel to create bold, highly personal site-specific art. Josef Ka’s themes range from investigating the place of the human body in contemporary reality to exploring the inner body as a representative system of our human and post human kind. Her artistic practice often actively invites the audience inside a sort of private reverie, making it is a deeply participatory one; she actively engages with both her audiences and with a wide diversity of other experimental artists. In addition to her own work, Josef Ka curates a regular series of events and exhibitions at her Helsinki underground space – Sauna Gallery – and teaches classes on the theory and practice of performance art. She is also the inventor of the WORST THEATRE and her yogic training system, KA-YOGA. https://eskargoeskargo.com/

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