on sitting.waiting.walking.
a text by Eva Lín Vilhjálmsdóttir (ed. Katinka Saarnak)
sitting.waiting.walking. (2026-) is an ongoing series of collaborative performances that examine memory, empathy, and the unpredictable ways our lives become entangled with those of others. Grounded in a forty-minute musical composition by Tze Yeung Ho (1992, Norway) and originating in the composer's autofictional contemplations, the project unfolds through a series of episodes.
In each episode, an artist is invited to engage with a scene comprising a stationary sound sculpture, created in collaboration with Suvi Kajas (b. 1991, Finland), with Ho’s composition and a text by writer Linda Gabrielsen (b.1974, Norway). Using karma as a conceptual tool for thinking about trauma, repetition and memory, the composition, text, and sculpture remain constant, establishing a common temporal framework. The resulting performances reveal how identical material can produce different emotional and narrative trajectories. Sounds are repeated, words return, performers and gestures change, and relationships shift.
In episodes one and two, presented at Amos Rex, Helsinki, during The Night of the Arts on 20th of August 2026, choreographer and dancer Max Pennanen (b. 1990, Finland) and multidisciplinary artist and theatermaker Filip Vest (b. 1995, Denmark) engage with the autofictional scene through their respective artistic practices. In episode one, Pennanen approaches the scene by building a common vocabulary and a shared embodied history with the performers Josh Spear (1990, UK) and Linnea Sundfær Casselry (1974, Norway) to activate the humanoid sculpture. Filip Vest gives voice to the sculpture in episode two, recounting an emotional state inherent in the scene. Vest’s text and choreography are performed by Pie Kär (1990, Finland), weaving humour and vulnerability into an exploration of existential questions.
At the centre of the stage, the male humanoid sound sculpture, with bunny ears, made by Kajas, functions as a conduit of memory. Made from wool, the sculpture’s layered colours of blue, yellow, red, brown and white reflect the translucency and the fragility of the skin and the human body. Whilst the embroidered turquoise yarn, representing blood vessels, are delicately added in ornamental shapes. The choice of material, wool, was guided by how it shines in light without being a light-reflecting material, allowing for a subtle interaction between the sculpture and the light design by Jenni Pystynen (b. 1983, Finland). The recorded composition is diffused by the sculpture as an unchanging source, while each performance activates it differently. This tension between permanence and transience is fundamental to the episodes, and they cannot be presented in isolation. Memory itself is viewed not as a fixed recollection but as something continually reshaped by the presence and actions of others. We reinterpret our past with every retelling.
The title refers to three ordinary actions that structure this cyclical aspect of everyday existence. Sitting and walking describe bodily actions, while waiting introduces a more elusive temporal condition. Together, these verbs describe the rhythms through which our lives intersect and unfold. We sit with emotions, wait through moments and walk away from situations.
Collaborators of the Project
Tze Yeung Ho (b. 1992, Norway) is a composer and curator. His music is created at the crossroads of understanding, reflecting his multilingual upbringing. Working with Scandinavian, Finno-Ugric and Chinese poetry and prose, his music treads on the fragile landscapes of (mis)communication through (un)spoken words. Tze Yeung holds a PhD from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Recent work includes the opera Nara at Borealis festival, music and sound design for the work “The Altersea Opera" presented at the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and “välillä”, which has been nominated for the Work of the Year by the Norwegian Society of Composers.
Suvi Kajas (b. 1991, Finland) is a costume designer. With a background in theatre costume construction, she explores the intersections between textile art and costume design. Kajas’s design philosophy approaches costume as a reflection of social norms and a means to challenge them. Kajas holds an MA in Costume Design from Aalto University, and her most recent works as a costume designer include contributions to ‘The Altersea Opera’ for Kholod Hawash in the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and Tule kotiin tähtityttö, premiered at Lahti City Theatre in September 2025.
Jenni Pystynen (b. 1983, Finland) is a designer working with light in various contexts from architecture to performing arts and cinema. In her work, she investigates the subliminal effects of light and how it affects living things both emotionally and biologically. Before working as a designer in London on international art and design projects for a decade, Jenni studied film and design at the University of Applied Sciences of Tampere and architectural lighting design at Kungliga Tekniske Högskolan in Stockholm.
Linda Gabrielsen (b. 1974, Norway) is an author and playwright. She works with text in a wide range of genres, for books, stage and film. Over the last few years, she has worked on librettos in close collaboration with composer Tze Yeung Ho, which have been performed both in Norway and abroad. She was a literature student at Forfatterstudiet in Bø and Skrivekunstakademiet in Bergen. Additionally, she holds a master's degree in stage writing from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. From 2018–19 she was House Playwright at Dramatikkens Hus in Oslo. Linda made her literary debut with the well-discussed novel So Says the King in 2005, dealing with sexual abuse of children. Since then, she has written film scripts, plays and poetry.
Max Pennanen (b. 1990, Finland) is a Helsinki based choreographer and dancer. Their work has recently been shown at KokoTeatteri, Cirko Helsinki, Borealis Festival and Helsinki Drag Marathon among others. Currently their artistic practice seeks to broaden narratives about the body, beauty and identity communicated by dance institutions such as ballet. Pennanen works at Tero Saarinen Company as a dancer and choreographers assistant. In the years 2009-2019 they danced at the Finnish National Ballet and at Ballet Vlaanderen in Belgium. Pennanen holds a Master of Arts degree from the Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art MA program at Aalto University.
Filip Vest (b. 1995, Denmark) explores subjects such as identity, performativity, and work. Through performances, installations, and film, Vest negotiates our social scripts and structures to see if there are other possible stories to tell, other ways of being in the world. Vest holds an MFA from Malmö Art Academy and has exhibited at SMK The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen Contemporary, Nikolaj Kunsthal, Arken Museum for Contemporary Art, Den Frie, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, The 15th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea; Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, Estonia; Manifesta 13, France, among others. Vest’s work is in the collection of Moderna Museet.
Josh Spear (b. 1990, United Kingdom) is a composer-performer whose work spans music-theatre, concert music, and installation. His academic background is varied, with Composition and 20th Century Analysis from the University of Manchester, and a Master of Music with Merit from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. His academic pursuits culminated in a PhD in 2021, in Artistic Research at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. Josh performs internationally in contemporary music and interdisciplinary contexts, including appearances at the Venice Biennale, Copenhagen Opera Festival, and with the composer-performer collective Bastard Assignments, of which he has been a member for over a decade.
Linnéa Sundfær Casserly (b. 1984, Norway) is a recorder player and vocalist. Linnéa is especially passionate about collaborations with living composers. She has world-premiered a large number of works – many of which were composed specifically for her. During her studies in the Norwegian Academy of Music, she specialised in baroque and contemporary music. She has worked deeply with Kaija Saariaho's vocal music, including a soprano solo in the opera Only the Sound Remains at the Maillon theatre in Strasbourg, and has been featured as a soloist in Helsinki Chamber Choir's album Reconnaissance, which won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance.
Pie Kär (b. 1990, Finland) is a dance artist and choreographer. In their practice, they explore change, sacredness, ideologies and embodied communication. Kär has created stage performances, audio walks, workshops, and choreographic objects. They hold a Master's degree in dance, having studied at the Theaterschool of Amsterdam University of the Arts and in choreography at the Theatre Academy of University of the Arts Helsinki. Their works have been presented at festivals such as Moving in November, Hangö Teaterträff, Yksin sateessa, XS, and UrbanApa x Ateneum, as well as at venues such as Dance Theatre Minimi and Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth.
In each episode, an artist is invited to engage with a scene comprising a stationary sound sculpture, created in collaboration with Suvi Kajas (b. 1991, Finland), with Ho’s composition and a text by writer Linda Gabrielsen (b.1974, Norway). Using karma as a conceptual tool for thinking about trauma, repetition and memory, the composition, text, and sculpture remain constant, establishing a common temporal framework. The resulting performances reveal how identical material can produce different emotional and narrative trajectories. Sounds are repeated, words return, performers and gestures change, and relationships shift.
In episodes one and two, presented at Amos Rex, Helsinki, during The Night of the Arts on 20th of August 2026, choreographer and dancer Max Pennanen (b. 1990, Finland) and multidisciplinary artist and theatermaker Filip Vest (b. 1995, Denmark) engage with the autofictional scene through their respective artistic practices. In episode one, Pennanen approaches the scene by building a common vocabulary and a shared embodied history with the performers Josh Spear (1990, UK) and Linnea Sundfær Casselry (1974, Norway) to activate the humanoid sculpture. Filip Vest gives voice to the sculpture in episode two, recounting an emotional state inherent in the scene. Vest’s text and choreography are performed by Pie Kär (1990, Finland), weaving humour and vulnerability into an exploration of existential questions.
At the centre of the stage, the male humanoid sound sculpture, with bunny ears, made by Kajas, functions as a conduit of memory. Made from wool, the sculpture’s layered colours of blue, yellow, red, brown and white reflect the translucency and the fragility of the skin and the human body. Whilst the embroidered turquoise yarn, representing blood vessels, are delicately added in ornamental shapes. The choice of material, wool, was guided by how it shines in light without being a light-reflecting material, allowing for a subtle interaction between the sculpture and the light design by Jenni Pystynen (b. 1983, Finland). The recorded composition is diffused by the sculpture as an unchanging source, while each performance activates it differently. This tension between permanence and transience is fundamental to the episodes, and they cannot be presented in isolation. Memory itself is viewed not as a fixed recollection but as something continually reshaped by the presence and actions of others. We reinterpret our past with every retelling.
The title refers to three ordinary actions that structure this cyclical aspect of everyday existence. Sitting and walking describe bodily actions, while waiting introduces a more elusive temporal condition. Together, these verbs describe the rhythms through which our lives intersect and unfold. We sit with emotions, wait through moments and walk away from situations.
Collaborators of the Project
Tze Yeung Ho (b. 1992, Norway) is a composer and curator. His music is created at the crossroads of understanding, reflecting his multilingual upbringing. Working with Scandinavian, Finno-Ugric and Chinese poetry and prose, his music treads on the fragile landscapes of (mis)communication through (un)spoken words. Tze Yeung holds a PhD from the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre. Recent work includes the opera Nara at Borealis festival, music and sound design for the work “The Altersea Opera" presented at the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and “välillä”, which has been nominated for the Work of the Year by the Norwegian Society of Composers.
Suvi Kajas (b. 1991, Finland) is a costume designer. With a background in theatre costume construction, she explores the intersections between textile art and costume design. Kajas’s design philosophy approaches costume as a reflection of social norms and a means to challenge them. Kajas holds an MA in Costume Design from Aalto University, and her most recent works as a costume designer include contributions to ‘The Altersea Opera’ for Kholod Hawash in the Nordic Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2024 and Tule kotiin tähtityttö, premiered at Lahti City Theatre in September 2025.
Jenni Pystynen (b. 1983, Finland) is a designer working with light in various contexts from architecture to performing arts and cinema. In her work, she investigates the subliminal effects of light and how it affects living things both emotionally and biologically. Before working as a designer in London on international art and design projects for a decade, Jenni studied film and design at the University of Applied Sciences of Tampere and architectural lighting design at Kungliga Tekniske Högskolan in Stockholm.
Linda Gabrielsen (b. 1974, Norway) is an author and playwright. She works with text in a wide range of genres, for books, stage and film. Over the last few years, she has worked on librettos in close collaboration with composer Tze Yeung Ho, which have been performed both in Norway and abroad. She was a literature student at Forfatterstudiet in Bø and Skrivekunstakademiet in Bergen. Additionally, she holds a master's degree in stage writing from the Oslo National Academy of the Arts. From 2018–19 she was House Playwright at Dramatikkens Hus in Oslo. Linda made her literary debut with the well-discussed novel So Says the King in 2005, dealing with sexual abuse of children. Since then, she has written film scripts, plays and poetry.
Max Pennanen (b. 1990, Finland) is a Helsinki based choreographer and dancer. Their work has recently been shown at KokoTeatteri, Cirko Helsinki, Borealis Festival and Helsinki Drag Marathon among others. Currently their artistic practice seeks to broaden narratives about the body, beauty and identity communicated by dance institutions such as ballet. Pennanen works at Tero Saarinen Company as a dancer and choreographers assistant. In the years 2009-2019 they danced at the Finnish National Ballet and at Ballet Vlaanderen in Belgium. Pennanen holds a Master of Arts degree from the Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art MA program at Aalto University.
Filip Vest (b. 1995, Denmark) explores subjects such as identity, performativity, and work. Through performances, installations, and film, Vest negotiates our social scripts and structures to see if there are other possible stories to tell, other ways of being in the world. Vest holds an MFA from Malmö Art Academy and has exhibited at SMK The National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen Contemporary, Nikolaj Kunsthal, Arken Museum for Contemporary Art, Den Frie, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, The 15th Gwangju Biennale, South Korea; Tallinn Art Hall Gallery, Estonia; Manifesta 13, France, among others. Vest’s work is in the collection of Moderna Museet.
Josh Spear (b. 1990, United Kingdom) is a composer-performer whose work spans music-theatre, concert music, and installation. His academic background is varied, with Composition and 20th Century Analysis from the University of Manchester, and a Master of Music with Merit from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. His academic pursuits culminated in a PhD in 2021, in Artistic Research at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. Josh performs internationally in contemporary music and interdisciplinary contexts, including appearances at the Venice Biennale, Copenhagen Opera Festival, and with the composer-performer collective Bastard Assignments, of which he has been a member for over a decade.
Linnéa Sundfær Casserly (b. 1984, Norway) is a recorder player and vocalist. Linnéa is especially passionate about collaborations with living composers. She has world-premiered a large number of works – many of which were composed specifically for her. During her studies in the Norwegian Academy of Music, she specialised in baroque and contemporary music. She has worked deeply with Kaija Saariaho's vocal music, including a soprano solo in the opera Only the Sound Remains at the Maillon theatre in Strasbourg, and has been featured as a soloist in Helsinki Chamber Choir's album Reconnaissance, which won a Grammy for Best Choral Performance.
Pie Kär (b. 1990, Finland) is a dance artist and choreographer. In their practice, they explore change, sacredness, ideologies and embodied communication. Kär has created stage performances, audio walks, workshops, and choreographic objects. They hold a Master's degree in dance, having studied at the Theaterschool of Amsterdam University of the Arts and in choreography at the Theatre Academy of University of the Arts Helsinki. Their works have been presented at festivals such as Moving in November, Hangö Teaterträff, Yksin sateessa, XS, and UrbanApa x Ateneum, as well as at venues such as Dance Theatre Minimi and Dance Theatre Hurjaruuth.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT (EPISODE 1) : MAX PENNANEN (Choreographer)
In this episode of sitting.waiting.walking. the composition of Tze Yeung Ho paired with the sculpture by Suvi Kajas becomes the protagonist around whom all other events revolve.
The performance treats dance and music as magic. Peculiar, repetitive and dazzling choreographies in various performance genres seek to restore high spirits and invite activation of the protagonist. The continuous melancholy and unresponsiveness of the protagonist becomes a mirror for different embodied spells offered by the performers.
By appropriating classical ballet through drag and the disregard for proper training the performance challenges the authority of a monolithic institution. What is beauty and who gets to define it? What is an acceptable emotional state and posture? An ode to inaction as a form of resistance that has potential to invite societal transformation.
-- Max Pennanen
The performance treats dance and music as magic. Peculiar, repetitive and dazzling choreographies in various performance genres seek to restore high spirits and invite activation of the protagonist. The continuous melancholy and unresponsiveness of the protagonist becomes a mirror for different embodied spells offered by the performers.
By appropriating classical ballet through drag and the disregard for proper training the performance challenges the authority of a monolithic institution. What is beauty and who gets to define it? What is an acceptable emotional state and posture? An ode to inaction as a form of resistance that has potential to invite societal transformation.
-- Max Pennanen
ARTISTIC STATEMENT (EPISODE 2) : FILIP VEST (Dramaturge)
Second episode of sitting.waiting.walking. explores the difficulty (or impossibility) of talking about traumatic events. We meet a restless protagonist telling us about the struggles of having an elephant living in your room, while ruminating on sleep, death, sex, dirty laundry and alienated friends.
-- Filip Vest
-- Filip Vest