We have been working so hard, so many long hours together with our carpenters to finally reach this stage where we can invite the first artist/culture workers to come and live and create at House of Helsinglight! We are happy to announce the first two artists to write Helsinglight history and launch open Helsinglight AAiR with us: Ivonne Arosenius “Ivoncita” -burlesque & dragking performer and photographer and designer Calle Elf.
The couple Ivonne and Calle often also work together and combine many different techniques where Ivonne works a lot with motion and performance and Calle with images, shape and light. During their stay of 3 weeks at Helsinglight AAiR they aim to combine their techniques within photo, video, light, dance and performance to create a joint project. We cannot wait to see what they will come up with while here during their creative stay. We truly hope and wish that Helsinglight AAiR will be an inspirational retreat and creative haven for these two artists during their creative journey here.
Ivonne Arosenius - better known as Ivoncita - is one of the top burlesque & dragking performers in Sweden and have been internationally performing far and wide since 2009. She performs as different characters, playing with symbolism and gendered expectations that oozes just as much joy and sensuality as it gives you the chills.
Ivoncita is a true entertainer, known for her energy, dancing skills and humorous take on the classic striptease. She was not only crowned Queen of Brussels Burlesque Festival in September 2015 but also rewarded for "best choreography". Alongside performing she also exhibits her conceptual ideas through photography and video, often in collaboration with her partner, photographer and designer Calle Elf.
The mission of my work is to describe and observe the performative nature of people through performance, photography and video. I'm especially curious about the expectations we have of gender and functionality and how it affects our lives and our planet. I want to explore patterns and behaviors, play with and question the social structures ingrained in society.
My life as a burlesque and drag king performer has given me the opportunity to try out different personas and see what is expected of me as a cis-woman, second generation immigrant, unconventional model, burlesque diva and drag character. In my everyday life I observe as much as I can to understand and imitate peoples relationships, emotions and behavior. It's an everlasting search for defining people and human interaction.
I always strive to create something desirable and I rely on beauty and glamour but that doesn't necessarily mean perfection or normative expectations. Humor and unexpected appearances is an important aspect that I feel gives a depth to our idea of "beauty". A central part of the modern burlesque scene is to take back ownership of and let us tell our stories of our bodies, beauty and sexuality.
To strive for beauty has never been something negative for me because beauty is for me more a feeling of satisfaction rather than a predetermined goal.
I am inspired by artists who are playful and performative such as Claude Cahun, Frida Kahlo, Pedro Almodovar and Man Ray. Through photography, performance and video I put together objects, colors and light that creates a sensual atmosphere and asks questions about identity and sexuality
Follow Ivonne “Ivoncita” Arosenius
Instagram: @ivoncitalolita
Facebook: /ivoncitalolita
Web: www.ivoncita.se
Calle Elf is a photographer and graphical designer born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. At the age of thirteen he got his first camera, a 1.2 megapixel digital pocket camera that would spur an interest that haven't faded since. Calle took all the photography and graphics courses he could in highschool and eventually studied at Kulturamas - Högre Fotografisk Utbildning. Nine years later Calle works out of his studio in Vasastan and have had multiple exhibitions in amongst others - Sturehof and Galleri Stense.
Photography for me is a unique way to walk the line between reality and imagination. Influenced by music, movies and graphic novels these themes are often present in my work, whether shooting with a full frame digital camera or an analog point and shoot. When you freeze a fraction of a second, mute the world and make everything stop, you take something "real" and make it into something else. Whether heavily edited or straight out of camera the picture you're producing is going to be influenced by your composition, subject and style which makes photography a never ending way to tell a story or get a message across.
Recently my biggest mission have been to forget or rather ignore the "professional" way of doing things and instead try to work with the creativity that comes with a naive and untrained mindset. For me the real beauty is the whole, including accidents and errors that occur in the process.
Follow Calle Elf
Instagram: @elfcalle
www.calleelf.com
HELSINGLIGHT AAiR - ALTERNATIVE ARTIST IN RESIDENCE IS SUPPORTED BY KULTURBRYGGAN
*Kulturbryggan (Kulturbryggan is an alternative financier which, by allocating grants to projects, will promote renewal and development in the cultural area throughout the country)
Leave a comment