The exhibition’s title Metamorphosis refers to the exhibition’s transformative impact on both the museum space and the two artists’ respective practices through their seamless interdisciplinary collaboration, which now for the first time also assumes the form of an entire exhibition and short film. In a series of performances to be organized during April, May and August, the artists will transform EMMA’s exhibition space through dance and painting, with the choreography blending into the painting process, and the brushwork in turn harmonizing with the dancer’s trajectories of movement.

On non-performance days, the short film Metamorphosis will be screened in the exhibition space. The piece was filmed in EMMA’s empty galleries on 16 mm black-and-white film using the stop motion technique familiar from experimental animations. The film is rich in allusions to art history and the legacy of performance art, classical ballet and contemporary art. The space will keep changing throughout the exhibition; on one visit, visitors might see it freshly painted and lit up after a performance, while the next time they might find the artists painting it clean for their next performance.

The artists were inspired by the idea of exploring EMMA’s space and architecture through movement, painting and dance. They want to encourage the audience to immerse themselves in the viewing experience and surrender to the flow of the non-verbal narrative; the choreography and brushwork come together in shifting compositions in both the performance and the short film, coalescing as a kind of ephemeral painting that moves in space.

“Metamorphosis is a multi-layered, inspirational experience for us. Our interdisciplinary collaboration freely traverses the worlds of painting, dance, performance, film, sound and installation art. Both of us gain new insights and transformative perspectives on our respective media by seeing them afresh through the eyes of another,” describe the artists.

Hannaleena Heiska is a visual artist who works across the media of painting, drawing, video art, installation and performance art. Minna Tervamäki is a dancer and choreographer renowned for her long and celebrated career as principal dancer at the Finnish National Ballet. Their friendship and collaboration began with The Trace, which debuted at EMMA and subsequently toured various venues. The artists’ return to EMMA is a natural continuation of their co-practice, which breaks boundaries and marks the advent of something wholly new in the visual and performing arts.

Metamorphosis is on view in EMMA Areena, a space designed for new, experimental art. Owing to limited seating, we kindly request that visitors book a ticket in advance to the performances via EMMA’s website. Tickets are included in the price of museum admission. EMMA’s exhibition programme for 2023 features a variety of interdisciplinary experiments and dialogues between art and science.