I AM EDITH SÖDERGRAN
A large-scale theatre performance and exhibition. Premiered in Helsinki on 6 October 2022 and later presented in Riga, Vienna, and Mödling. Upcoming shows include Stockholm, Copenhagen (Jan 2023), Helsinki (Apr 2023), and Berlin (May 2023).
BEING JOSEF KA
A long-term photo-performative collaboration with Mark Maher (since 2017). By the end of 2022, two volumes were released, documenting our durational practice across the world.
SAUNA GALLERY
Founded in August 2021 in my Helsinki studio during an art residency. A non-profit, artist-run space that hosts exhibitions roughly every two months, inviting artists from Finland and abroad.
PEACE2020 – Artists Against the War
Since 2022, I have curated a large digital anti-war program with short videos from 300+ artists from 25 countries. Screened at over 30 venues across Europe (Helsinki, Vienna, Krakow, Leipzig, Hamburg, Stockholm, Rome, Riga, Kassel/Documenta15, and more).
FUNNY GAMES DURING WARTIME
A series of 15 anti-war performances across Europe in summer 2022, staged in galleries, festivals, and streets (Helsinki, Vienna, Riga, Kassel, Sarajevo, Olib). Mostly self-organized while traveling by bus and staying with friends.
MY BODY BELONGS TO THE STATE
Performance series exploring the relationship between state and body, both symbolic and literal. Shown at Overlapping Kassel (2022), Parallel Vienna (2021), Riga Performance Festival (2020), and Performance Festival in Peru (2020).
INTERNATIONAL SILENCE
An ongoing project combining history, anthropology, and art. Site-specific performances and installations staged in abandoned or peripheral locations across Germany, Finland, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, and France — reflecting on collective muteness and disappearance.
PRANAYAMABAND
Started during a group exhibition in Moscow, 2018. Inspired by yoga breathing practices, it invites musicians to collaborate in collective sessions of sound and breath.
COLLABORATIONS
Spontaneous joint projects with artists worldwide. Always improvised and rule-based, documented through video.
THE WORST THEATRE
An experimental “anti-theatre” concept. Rules shift every time, allowing total freedom of play. A breakthrough moment was in Cyprus (Oct 2022), when pedestrians spontaneously joined a street performance.
KA YOGA
A body practice rooted in hatha yoga but reframed through performance art. Presented in multiple festivals in Italy, Austria, and Finland.
RESIDENCY
A future project — my plan to create a flexible, possibly pop-up art residency, informed by my experience in residencies across Europe.
THE CORNER
An ongoing action questioning curatorial systems of visibility: standing in the corner of galleries, facing the wall, in spaces where my works were not exhibited.
FUCK YOU PANIC
Started during COVID-19. Participants shared their experiences of panic via video, audio, or text, which I transformed into choreographed performances and visual works. Each participant is credited.
INSTALLATIONS
From The White Room (Moscow, 2015) to Sandbox (Annantalo, Helsinki, 2021) and There’s Snow on the Window (The Third Space, Helsinki, 2020). My installations often merge with performance and the body itself.
PAINTINGS
Since 2018 I have created paintings based on performance images, shown in group exhibitions in Finland and abroad.
EVERY DAY IS HOLIDAY
A series of daily video performances during COVID isolation at HIAP residency (2020). Each day was linked to a “holiday.”
FACEMARKET
A collaborative painting project: artists paint my face in exchange for a portrait I make of them.
KHLEBNIKOV
A 10-year collaboration with Austrian broadcasting, dedicated to futurist poet Velimir Khlebnikov (1885–1922), whose visionary writings inspired many works.
I AM THE ELEPHANT
Performance-installation series exploring my connection to elephants and disconnection from humankind. Shown in Riga Performance Festival (2022), Art Supermarket/Stockholm (2021), Skvot/Moscow (2021).
SUPERFAST
A playful dance intervention series: “super-fast dances” in places where dancing is forbidden, reclaiming the right to move freely.
COUPLES
Photo installations built from objects arranged in pairs.
MY MORNING FACE
A self-portrait series started in 2019.
PERFORMANCE ART FOR EVERYONE
Site-specific works in everyday locations (shops, train stations, parks), introducing performance art to wider audiences.
PHOTOCOLLABORATIONS
Long-term collaborations with photographers across countries, producing “photo-performances” and photobooks. I lead concept, styling, and performance; results remain unpredictable.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
Background in documentary filmmaking (2005–2012, award-winning festival screenings). Later participated in Reality online project (2012–2014). Currently studying under filmmaker Dina Barinova (since Nov 2022), with plans to restart filmmaking.
MUSIC COLLABORATIONS
Around 100 collaborative performances with musicians across Russia and Europe. Often site-specific, conceptual, or rejecting traditional movement.
BODY AND VIDEO
Projects where my body interacts with projections and video installations. Created in collaboration with supportive video artists.
PERFORMANCE ART MASTERCLASSES
Teaching since 2017 — blending theory and practice, concluding with solo/group presentations. Since Jan 2023, I teach performance art permanently at Arbis, Helsinki.
JOSEF KA 