KUIHTUMINEN JA KUOLEMA (Withering and Death)

5.12. at 7 p.m.
6.12. at 3 p.m.
7.12. at 3 p.m.

PerformanceSirkus
The Cable Factory
Tallberginkatu 1 A, 4th floor
00180 Helsinki

Kuihtuminen ja kuolema is the third and final part of the Just a Gardener performance trilogy. Minja Mertanen is the convener and choreographer of the performance which combines butôh dance and video art.

The series progresses along to the cycle of nature. The first part, Kaipuu (Longing) was performed at the opening of Galleria Kasvihuone in Helsinki in the summer of 2021 and at Ekata Teatre's Blendi event at Botta in Helsinki in the fall of 2021. Kaipuu depicted the first events of spring in nature and in the gardener: How the seeds of a plant come to life after a long winter. What it feels like for a gardener to sink their fingers into the soil and feel a connection to this very land, this place and time; how the land also nourishes people.

The second part of the series, Kasvu ja kukoistus (Growth and Blooming), premiered at Performance Sirkus in Helsinki in June 2023 and was performed at the Jyväskylän kesä Festival in July 2023 and was produced by Höyhentämö. In it, the cycle turned to midsummer, a time when nature is at its bloom. At the same time, the praised the diverse female nature that blooms in different ways and at different ages.

The third part progresses to the autumn season and wintering of nature: withering, rotting, curling up and the silent process of death. At the same time, the performance celebrates life, the cycle of nature and life's cyclical nature; only the end can enable a new beginning. Death as an event is silenced and hidden in our society. The performance brings the process leading to death into a theatrical examination and challenges us to face our own limitations and vulnerability.

The performance approaches the non-human world through natural processes. The performance embodies the processes of autumn and winter as some plants die and others retreat into dormancy. The performance deals not only with human mortality but also temporal arcs larger than human life.
Death is one of the few things that touches us all, regardless of gender, origin, class, privilege, skills or species. It equalizes us not only with other people, but also with other species.

Minja Mertanen has worked with butôh for over 20 years. She is a dance teacher, dance movement therapist, yoga instructor and somatic movement therapist by training. Mertanen works as a dancer, performer and performance artist at Todellisuuden Tutkimuskeskus (Reality Research Centre), the Toisissa tiloissa (Other Spaces) group and Höyhentämö. Mertanen works as a butôh artist and teacher in Finland and abroad, in recent years mainly in Spain and France. In 2025, Mertanen founded the Why Butoh Festival in Turku and founded the Be(a)ware Butoh Festival in Helsinki.

Choreography: Minja Mertanen and artistic team
Artistic team and performers: Minja Mertanen, Giorgio Convertito, Petra Haapio, Aarni Korpela, Juha Sääski and Paula Tella
Lights and videos: Henrik Miettinen
Music: Tatu Rönkkö
Costumes: Suvi Hänninen
Production: Höyhentämö

Tickets: 15/25€, buy here