All posts by Mika Taanila

PNEUMA (2011)

January 1, 1970

A quick impression of a cement factory in Tuscany.

Cementificio Sacci situated in Passo dei Pecorai in Greve in Chianti was established in 1905 to produce calcium and concrete.

From 1933 onwards the “Società Anonima Centrale Cementerie Italiane S.A.C.C.I.” (The Anonymous Center of Italian Cement Companies) was a major local employer. The Sacci Testi factory was for decades the third biggest manufacturer of natural cement in Italy.

The restructuring of the global cement market, the building crisis of 2008 and finally the continuous mergers between groups lead to the closure of the plant in 2021.

Today Cementificio Sacci remains abandoned as a relic of 20th century industrialization in the middle of Chianti wine and agritourism region.

The short film Pneuma was part of the omnibus film project 60 Years of Solitude in Year Zero, produced by Veiko Õunpuu and Taavi Eelmaa for the Tallinn European Capital of Culture in year 2011. Shot on super8, blown-up to 35 mm.

Distributed by Light Cone, Paris

Pneuma as part of 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero outdoor screening in Tallin harbor, December 2011

REFLECTION OF FEAR (2021)

January 1, 1970

The viewer enters a darkened room. A motorized stage moves a grid of nine identical film stills horizontally. A flashing strobe light acts as a shutter, creating the illusion of movement. The room itself thus acts as a sort of meta-film projector within which the work is experienced.

Ilpo Väisänen and Mika Taanila at Signature Dark, WHS Union teatteri, Helsinki ( )

April 11, 2026 - April 11, 2026

Ilpo Väisänen and Mika Taanila will perform together at Signature Dark event on April 11, 2026. Venue: WHS Union teatteri, Helsinki

Tickets: 15€

Signature Dark X WHS Teatteri Union

Schedule:

17:00-18 DJ Mihut
18-18:45 LIVE: Aki Himanen & Aleksi Kinnunen / Monautomaton
18:45-19:30 DJ Carlina Carpelan
19:30-20:15 LIVE: !!! FORKO !!! / Random Doctors
20:15-21 DJ A. Myllykoski
21-21:45 LIVE: Ilpo Väisänen / Mika Taanila
21:45-22:30 DJ Ender
22:30-23:15 LIVE: Recue / Folded Visuals
23:15-24 DJ Das Venn

Ilpo Väisänen, born in Kuopio / Finland in 1963, studied visual arts and ceramics, graduated from Turku art academy in 1991 and in the early 90s took part in several solo and group exhibitions. He formed the performance-art group ultra3 in 1991 and in 1993, together with Mika Vainio, the sound group sinO which turned into Pan Sonic (originally called Panasonic). In order to generate his sounds and soundscapes Ilpo Väisänen rarely uses more than the simplest of devices: analog keyboards and other oscillators he’s fabricated himself. In an age of digital ubiquities, his economy of means and anachronistic aura almost constitutes a challenge, indeed a provocation. One discovers this postulate within the solo releases that Väisänen has issued since 1995. His world permanently fluctuates between hot and cold; composed of creaks, whistles, strange noises and rhythmic improbabilities, it’s a world oftentimes futuristic, yet prehistoric.

Mika Taanila is a film-maker / visual artist based in Helsinki. His projects often address the notion of human engineering and the progress of technological evolution. In this collaboration with Ilpo Väisänen he uses analogue 16mm film projections.

22-PISTEPIRKKO: “BIRDY” at Oulu City Hall ( )

January 15, 2025 - December 31, 2026

The music video “Birdy” for 22-Pistepirkko is part of the group exhibition Korvamato (“Earworm – Media Art from Kiasma”) at Oulu City Hall from January 15 until December 31, 2026. The exhibition is part of Oulu European Capital of Culture 2026 events. Curator: Saara Karhunen / Kiasma.

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photo by Martti Jämsä
22-Pistepirkko: Birdy (1993)
Direcor and editor: Mika Taanila
Script: Asko Keränen, Tiina Räsänen
Cinematography: Jussi Eerola
Birdy’s head: Guy Hellström
Totem Pole: Juha van Ingen
Composer: P-K Keränen
Lyrics: Asko Keränen, P-K Keränen
Video producer: Anne Lappi / PolyGram Finland

 

“Eteinen” from CLEANING TAPE in the online exhibition “Infinite Play: Platforms as Performative Space” ( )

October 1, 2025 - December 31, 2026

The track “Eteinen / Hallway” from the cassette album Cleaning Tape (Ruton Music, 2021) by Mika Taanila is part of an online exhibition “Infinite Play: Platforms as Performative Space”, curated by Alessandra Bergamaschi and Rudá Babau in São Paulo, Brazil.

Listen to the track “Eteinen” here.

Watch and listen the full two-hour playlist of the exhibition here

The exhibition is produced and coordinated by Cifra – Digital Art Platform for streaming Contemporary Art

THE WORLD at Taidekaupungin elokuvajuhlat in Mänttä ( )

October 18, 2025 - October 19, 2025

The short film The World (Mika Taanila, 2017) is screening at the brand new festival Taidekaupungin elokuvajuhlat in Mänttä 18-19 October, 2025.

The programs “Elo/kuva” are curated by Alina Mänttäri and feature short films directed by visual artists.

The World is screening at “Elo/kuva 2” on Saturday 18 October 16:30 at Kino Säde and on Sunday 19 October 11:00 at Kivijärvi-sali.

Trailer:

I MIGHT BE STUCK at Cinema Luminor Hôtel de Ville, Paris ( )

November 25, 2025 - November 25, 2025

The cinema performance I Might Be Stuck (2022, 30 min) is part of Light Cone‘s Scratch Collection #4: Sowing Trouble. It is showing in the final program of the cycle “Unravel: science fiction et speculative fabulations” on Tuesday November 25, 2025 at Luminor Hôtel de Ville in Paris.

Scratch Collection #4 is curated by Teresa Castro and Alice Leroy.

Director: Mika Taanila
Script: Harry Salmenniemi
Music: Jussi Lehtisalo
Cinematography: Jussi Eerola
Technical construction: Jari Lehtinen
Production: Elokuvayhtiö Testifilmi