“There was an old lady who swallowed a bird;
How absurd to swallow a bird.”
(children’s rhyme/nonsense song)
“Absurdism is all about exaggerating the unnoticed…”
(Marlouv, The Absurdist Monthly Review, April 2006)
Is it time for a revival of absurdism? This month’s Beyond Friday artist, Iiu Susiraja thinks so.
Born in 1975 in Finland, Iiu’s self-portraits demonstrate the same deadpan humour and rejection of classical art principles that the Dada movement embraced. Placing herself at the center of her work, there is nothing predictable or boring about Iiu’s still and moving images: pegs pinned to her flesh, rashers of bacon draped across her body, a toilet seat worn around her neck like jewellery - this is art designed to shock, unnerve and amuse.
Using items commonly found in the home, the boredom of domesticity featured in Iiu’s art resonates with me. Tired of mopping the floor? Just pop the bucket on your head and snap a selfie! Why not? In a world that increasingly feels like a circus show, there’s a natural inclination for artists to subvert accepted systems and create art that feels equally as irrational as the decisions being made by leaders and politicians. The Dada movement emerged after the horrors of World War I and was rooted in criticism of the social order of the time. Similarly, after World War II, the Cold War, and the civil unrest of the 1960s, artists began playing with themes of absurdism, escapism and surrealism as ways of “…harnessing new ways of thinking about – and changing – the spaces around us.” (Lexi Manatakis, Dazed review of Met Museum Show of absurdist art, 2017)
We live in troubled, uncertain times (has it ever been any different?) Don’t we all feel the absurdity of decisions being made? Biden approving a new oil drilling project in the face of climate change. Billionaires attempting to colonize Mars while folks struggle here on Earth. It’s no surprise that artists such as Iiu Susiraja seek to throw a pie in the face of humanity and create imagery that demonstrates how utterly ridiculous life can be.
absurd: wildy unreasonable, illogical, inappropriate
Social media is full of absurdity: TikTok challenges, Instagram reels, almost everything said on Twitter. We have absurd, cartoon characters claiming to be political leaders, wildly unreasonable laws enacted, illogical conclusions drawn from scientific research and inappropriate behaviours accepted as the norm. Iiu’s work reminds me that artists don’t have to conform or follow trends, and that art can be a tool for poking fun, pointing out the farcical and pointless nature of life. In a sea of photoshopped selfies, her work is refreshing, rebellious, and totally of this time: Her videos could be a weird TikTok dare, her still photographs a body-positive Instagram post. The work is relevant, confident and as outlandish as some of the AI imagery now appearing on social media. I love it.
Until next time.
JC
RESOURCES
Iiu’s website: (make sure you watch the video of her clamping pegs to herself) https://www.iiususiraja.com/photos/
This is a good write up of her work: https://www.miergallery.com/artists/iiu-susiraja/biography1
This is her Instagram handle: iiu.susiraja
The Dazed article reviewing the Met Museums show Delirious Art: Art at the Limit of Reasons is a good read, find it HERE
And read about the Dada movement HERE
wow. your thoughts are refreshing. it can be easy to feel drowned by the onslaught of stupidity surrounding us. for me it's right in my face, in the governmental decisions of my city. everything feels absurd to me. everything. and yet, i wonder if part of that is the leaving behind of the old. for example, cities were built next to flooding rivers, and railways. industrial buildings were erected next to the river and companies could dump toxic elements into the water. the powers would turn a blind eye to all harm. as cities have evolved, river properties still largely old warehouses are slowly transitioning into artist studios and then condo's. but the old still remains and overwhelms. the toxic substances being carried by the trains pass through the residential. to build a new railway would cost billions that our city is devoid of. the influence of power from the past, dictates the absurdity of the present. i just think this example is prime visual material for the ways our structures are too rigid and absurd. perhaps the lawmakers are like these old tracks, going in the wrong direction. thank the gods for creative artists who place the absurdity front and center.
I've seen some cool "scanner art" from people taking selfies using a flatbed scanner or doing other things. It seems ridiculous at first, but then I came to realize the flatbed scanner is just another "camera".
The world is a circus - so why can't art reflect that? Just reading news headlines - a plethora of art material(!)