The special screening of works by VAFT 2025 juror Pilvi Takala has been compiled around the festival theme “Curiosity”. Takala's video works are based on performative interventions in which she explores specific communities to focus on societal structures to question the normative rules of our behaviors and truths in different contexts. Takala proves that often the hidden rules of a specific social situation are revealed only by disruption.
Pilvi Takala (b. 1981) is one of the best-known and successful video artists of her generation, whose works have been shown in Finland and abroad at MoMA PS1, the New Museum, Palais de Tokyo, Kunsthalle Basel, Manifesta, and the Istanbul and Venice Biennales.
The Trainee (2008) 13:52 min (Finnish with English subtitles)
In The Trainee, the artist worked for a month as a trainee in the marketing department of Deloitte, an international accounting and consulting firm, where only a few people knew the true nature of the project. During the month-long intervention, an initially normal-seeming marketing trainee starts to apply peculiar working methods. Gradually she shifts from the position of someone others believe to be normal, to the object of avoidance and speculation.
Real Snow White (2009) 9:19 min (French and English with English subtitles)
The absurd logic of the 'real character' and the extreme rules of Disneyland become apparent when a real fan of Snow White is banned from entering the theme park dressed as Snow White.
The Stroker (2018) 10:15 min (English, no subtitles)
The Stroker is based on Takala’s two week-long intervention at Second Home, a trendy East London coworking space for young entrepreneurs and startups. During the intervention Takala posed as a wellness consultant named Nina Nieminen, the founder of cutting-edge company Personnel Touch who were allegedly employed by Second Home to provide touching services in the workplace.
If your heart wants it (2020) 15:37 min (English, no subtitles)
Taking place annually in Helsinki, SLUSH is a three-day super event that aims to invigorate the tech-startup community by bringing together entrepreneurs with venture capitalists in a party-like environment. If your heart wants it (remix) is grounded in research Takala conducted at the 2018 edition of SLUSH. Together with an interdisciplinary team and camera crew, they fabricated a startup in order to gain entry.