This was held in August 2003 in Helsinki. Micronations are entities that persistently claim to be an independent nation or state, yet are not officially recognised by other world governments or major international organisations. This convention was a three-day event where representatives from six micronations held a closed, round table discussion, a gala evening and temporary embassies. It was produced together with the artists' association MUU in the context of the Amorph!03 festival, which Tellervo and Oliver curated that year.
YKON
Based in Helsinki and Berlin, YKON was founded in 2005 in order to continue working on the topic of micronations, through advocating unrepresented nations, experimental countries and utopian thinkers. As part of the field of contemporary art, YKON's aim is to help the dissemination of knowledge in these unrepresented nations through a cooperation between the approaches of all fields of study, such as education, architecture and the economy. The Summit of Practical Utopias was also born out of the Micronations Summit.
Speech Karaoke Action Group
Together with 11 other artists in 2010, Tellervo and Oliver developed a karaoke system for speeches. This works in the same way as normal karaoke, except with speeches instead of songs, ranging from famous dictator speeches, lines from films or private wedding speeches. They can be performed and spoken in any desired style, and in workshops people may add a speech of their choice to the system to be performed at a karaoke club evening. The project was developed in the context of the exhibition: 'I am a socialist-anarchist-individual-collectivist-individual-communist-cooperative-aristocrat-democrat.' - produced by the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts and curated by Oliver and Tellervo.
What I Wish I Had Learned In School
Founded in 2012, this project invited people to create a 45 minute lesson about what they wish they had learned in school, that would have considerably helped them and prepared them better for life. Of those who replied to the invitation with a topic, 10 people prepared a lesson about their chosen subject in workshops facilitated by the Kalleinens. The lessons ranged from practical skills such as drilling holes to personal life lessons such as dealing with death and disease. They were delivered in a classroom style environment with 15 minute breaks between each one. Like the Complaints Choirs, this project was open for anyone to participate.
People in White
They have also worked on a number of short films together. One of them is 'People in White', a film created between 2011-2012 that explores the complicated relationship between doctor and patient in mental health care, with 10 patients sharing their experiences. It was chosen as the best feature film at 'Lo Spiraglio Film Fest', an Italian film festival about mental health. The trailer can be viewed here.
I Love My Job
Another similar film project with 3 episodes covers 3 real employees of Gothenburg and Helsinki (a puppet theatre actress, a storage worker and a chef), and the unbearable situations and unresolved conflicts at their workplaces. Each one shows fantasies of how these employees wish to bring an end to their situations, giving the chance for them to act out their wishes from their darkest moments. Here is the trailer. A theatrical version of this project was performed at HAU in Berlin, 2008, the same location for the Berlin complaints choir 5 years later.
