A living fish spirit surfacing from the video game world to meet its audience.
The work brings Harri Kala, an ancient fish spirit, into direct dialogue with audiences. The mythic NPC Harri Kala is an arctic grayling fish (Thymallus arcticus), or in Finnish, a harjus kala, originating in the virtual world of the video game performance series Adventures of Harriharri. Now summoned in a new form, Harri Kala is powered by the artist’s custom HARRI KALA AI™ system, appearing as a holographic projection that listens and responds in real time.
The audience leads the experience. Participants must self-organise: deciding together who speaks, what to ask, and how to communicate with Harri Kala. They can ask the fish anything, about the state of the environment, the future, their lives, or the mysteries of the underwater world. Playful wisdom unfolds, inviting audiences into laughter, surprise, and collective worldbuilding with a non-human companion.
The piece works across contexts, from museums and galleries to festivals and performance stages, and can operate both as a standalone installation and as a live game performance with the artist.
Video documentation of the premiere at New Performance Turku Biennale is available here.
Produced by New Performance Turku Biennale and Live Art Denmark.