Ptarmigan is no longer operating in Helsinki.

Ptarmigan existed as a project space in Vallila from 2009-2011 and a mobile curatorial/creative platform until 2014. We no longer exist as an organised collective, but this website will continue to serve as an archive of the activities produced as/at Ptarmigan during these years.

Artūrs Punte 'Downgrade to silence' / Vigdis Haugtrø artist talk
performance : sound : poetry : artist talk : presentation
16 november 2010 00:00
Featuring artist: Artūrs Punte

Arturs Punte 'Downgrade to Silence' 
Ptarmigan's in-house resident (as part of the KK Nord Nordic/Baltic mobility programme) presents the culmination of his work in Helsinki.  'Downgrade to silence' is a 20 minute audo-visual performance combining documentary video and poetic text, in the Finnish language.

A poem written in a language the author does not understand, 'Downgrade to Silence' will be a chorus of lo-fi video and audio.  The performance will combine old TV sets, DVD and digital audio players without proper amplification. 

Punte: 'It's a lonely journey through the city of Helsinki.  In soundscape of silent urban areas, you can hear your thoughts much better than other things.  Time is passing.  You are counting days.  You notice some small changes that happen with the usual things around you.  You think - it's language, between you and the locals, and you think about the language all the time.  Then you give your thoughts to people you meet and they translate it, they make you hear them - finally the city is starting to sound for you, finally you can hear it." 

Vigdis Haugtrø
Also this evening will be a presentation by our next resident from the mobility programme, Vidgis Haugtrø of Trondheim, Norway.  Haugtrø will give a short presentation of her work and talk about the project she will work on during her two-month Ptarmigan residency.