(Finland)

Teo Ala-Ruona is an interdisciplinary artist based in Helsinki, working in the fields of performance, contemporary theatre, and choreography. His practice explores the potential of somatic fiction to shift our perceptions of the human body, navigating the intersections of linguistic, somatic and social existence. He explores how trans experience can broaden our understanding of what the body can be, approaching the examination of trans embodiment as an autopsy of society’s conception of the body.

Working with the stage as a site for speculative narratives, he investigates how alternative performance politics can transform the perceptual frameworks of both performer and audience. Grounded in theory and embodied scores, his work treats the performer as both a reflective surface and an active agent in negotiating inherited categories and challenging the conventions of normalcy.

Ala-Ruona’s work has recently been shown at the Nordic Countries Pavilion, at the 19th International Architecture Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Performa Biennial (New York), Fundació Joan Miró Museum (Barcelona), The Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (Vilnius), The Finnish National Gallery Kiasma (Helsinki), and The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (London).

@teoalaruona