Have you seen any of Pilvi Takala’s work? On Discomfort, her largest solo exhibition to date, is reaching the end of its run at Goldsmiths CCA and it’s one of the most thought-provoking yet amusing afternoons I have spent in a gallery or museum.

One reason is that I am forever curious about human nature, and to what extent we do or don't get on with one another. The latter is often for silly reasons. Another appealing aspect is that so much of the social interaction she investigates is face-to-face, which I rarely see in art practice these days. At least in the institutions I have visited.

Takala uses camera footage (as well as text message conversations and other recorded exchanges) in her experiments to take us into specific environments. Each with their own codes of conduct and unwritten rules of engagement.

Then, in a process akin to what sociologists call “breaching”, she bends and breaks those rules to test their validity, and “to touch the grey areas between the rules” as she explained in an interview for Prix de Rome in 2011.

What is normal? What’s not acceptable? What are the benefits of conformity and the consequences of dissent? How do people (re)negotiate these unusual situations that the Finnish artist has created by pushing the boundaries (sometimes a risk to her own personal safety)?

Read More