Coming Community – Finland

In Coming Community (2016), Valentina Karga addresses the future shape and shared values of a local community by creating a collective totem consisting of a ceramic sculpture and video. The project is a response to the current situation ofglobal crises and financialized abstraction, where the lack of concrete values, of a tangible commons seems to crumble the foundations of modern western culture. The totem symbolises the community’s shared values, giving them a material form. It is a conceptual pillar that will break through the fear of change, and support ‘our coming community’. The sculpture was created at the ceramics workshop of Saunabaari community centre, where the participants met to sculpt and glaze their own totem modules, and to share their values in video speeches. Also recorded on the video is the community centre’s sing-along group, performing the quintessential Finnish tango ‘ the Fabled Land’ whose lyrics long for a better world beyond the sea.
— Minna Tarka

The project has been produced by m-cult, with the support of Collaborative Arts Partnership Program and Helsinki city.