Vaasa in Luck is a project by Esther Pilkington (GB/AT/DE), current artist-in-residence at Platform, which will be conducted during her stay in Vaasa; Esther has a piece of gold, which she offers to trade for something of lesser value. The object she gets in return she will again offer for exchange, and again, and again – until she is left with nothing. If you have anything at home that you do not need or want anymore – now is the time to give it away for something you might need or want. If you swap objects with Esther, you can only win!
Vaasa in Luck is a meditation on a well-known fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, entitled “Hans im Glück” (Hans in Luck). In this fairy tale, Hans, after 7 years of servitude, is set free by his master and rewarded with “a piece of gold as big as his head”. On his journey home, Hans first trades the piece of gold for a horse, then the horse for a cow, the cow for a pig, the pig for a goose, the goose for a grindstone that eventually falls into a well. Left with nothing, Hans is happy: “No one under the sun is as fortunate as I am”.
The exchanges of objects will create encounters and while, on a material level, Esther will aim to loose, what will be gained from the exchanges is an archive of stories attached to the traded objects. The objects, exchanges and stories will be documented on-line, as well as in a lecture performance that marks the end of the project – it is there that Esther will give away the final object in her possession.
The project will open with a short lecture performance on 27.8.2011, 7:30 pm, at Platform’s studio, Korsholmsesplanaden 6-8, Kasernen 14. After this, until 23.9.2011, Esther will be at the studio Wed-Sun from 4pm to 7pm, in order to exchange objects. Appointments can also be made outside these times. More information on the project and on the objects will be made available on-line at luck.random-people.net. You can contact Esther on luck@random-people.net for further questions, comments and, most importantly, for suggestions about what you would like to trade with her.
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