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#31 MARCH/MAALISKUU 2023

R E F L E C T I O N S

FREE <3 ILMAINEN

by Ines Montalvao @i.montalvao

{ {
G l o s s o l a l i a for conversations & contributions:
insta:@salarakashel Dear reflectors,
Reflections/Peilikuvat email: salarakashel@hotmail.com There’s nothing quite like a new year, soft whiffs of spring air, or babies sprouting to make
phono: 0452510121 for love notes. <3
Finnish//Suomi (by Unelma Tyttö Han Lei & subscribe: patreon.com/salarakashel
a person reflect - what have I been doing the past year, what is that smell, and what do I
Pekka) want to create? With reflection, we can gain persepctive and gather new insights. In our
Mirror : peili Reflections part 1 show on IDA radio, Bodarialgren reminds us the oldest mirror is water
Reflection : peilikuva and the closest one is in our own eyes. Keep your eyes open and watch out for puddles on
To reflect : reflektoida (Girl Selene) the sidewalk holding new warbly angles.
Reflective : heijastava, peilaava
Silmät ovat sielun peili : eyes are the mirror of Lù I see you and I hope you see you too,
your soul xxoo LWM
Farsi// (by Maybe Shesbornwithit) ps. Find our latest radio show on idaidaida.net and part 2 live 30.03 13-14. <3

Där mähäleye kuran ayene dari mikone :

In the neighborhood of the blind they sell
H o r o s c o p e s M i x t a p e # 3 1
mirrors; doing something useless Jim P. Stone R e f l e c t i o n s
English// (by Long-winded Mary) Aries: Maybe you should call them... by MAXQDJ
It was all smoke and mirrors : trickery; Remember how they made you laugh?
referring to magic tricks. 1. Obsequiae - Ay que por muy gran fremosura
Taurus: The growth of the seedling is 2. Tohji, Malibu - Oreo - malibu seven seas mix
Take a look in the mirror : said to someone exponential. 3. Groupa, Jonas Simonson Mats Edén, Terje
not admitting their failings. Gemini: It’s okay to crave chaos from Isungset - Offerdalshalling
“Mirror, Mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest time to time. 4. Dedekind Cut - Virtues
of them all?” : famous Snow White and the Cancer: Deadlines can be put off. Your 5. Merely, Malibu - Idle citi
Seven Dwarfs quote. health cannot. 6. Andy Scott - When it hits
Spanish//Español (by Nieve de Limón) Leo: It’s your turn to win. 7. Suzanna Ciani - The eighth wave
Soy espejo y me reflejo : I am a mirror and Virgo: When it hurts, stop and observe.
8. Yamaneko - Yaeyama islands (setting sun)
I reflect myself; when you are getting the 9. Boys Noize - Heart attack
Libra: It’s harder to change than you 10. Torus - Chroniko VIP
same attitude that you are giving whether it is thought, isn’t it. 11. d’Eon - 118
positive or negative. Scorpio: You’ll be reunited with your
Del plato a la boca se cae la sopa : from the
plate to the mouth the soup falls down; how a
dearest soon. S e c r e t s
Sagittarius: Clear your schedule. Rest.
lot of things can happen between planning to Capricorn: Your generosity is noticed. Secrets collected via anonymous online
do something and then actually doing it. Aquarius: Take steps into your new light. survey during February. Thank you for
Le hizo lo que el viento a Juárez : it did the Pisces: You’re building a beautiful sharing!
same thing that the wind did to Juárez. Benito kingdom.
Juárez was president of Mexico in 1858 and Every 2 years - for the last 10 years - an
one of his physical traits was that he put a old love visits me in my dreams. We were
lot of gel in his hair. Unmovable like hair gel, rock bottom separated due to distance and in these
it is saying that after some reflection you kamomilla dreams it’s always either him or me who
can see that whatever happened had no is in town for a day or two, just to see the
/ other again.
consequences at all.
knowing life mainly through extremes
Estoy pariendo chayotes : I am giving birth
from boring everydayness to watching My secret is that I create secrets. Some
to chayotes (a type of squash); when you
clouds from above volcano scenes of them are vaguely based on truth and
are not having a good time or having a lot of
dreaming of what I will see and seeing some of them are completely false. I also
difficulties.
what I once dreamed create false stories about people and
I would like to send a gift from overseas events that never happened to keep life
by Lù @lu.isanameof.gem

complete escape and silence where only interesting ;)

peace can be conceived I have finally decided that I want to be a
/ mom if I get to do it with a partner. The
problem is that I am getting more used to
the idea that this partner might not arrive
in time or never at all.

Years ago I visited my ex in (redacted)

Thoughts from Vääränlainen while we were still together and I met a
friend of a friend of his that I immediately
(=the wrong kind) had a crush on. Did nothing about it at
I’ve always thought myself to be the wrong kind.  the time but yesterday I decided to look
I don’t look like the right kind woman. him up out of curiosity. I added him on
I don’t dress the right way. (redacted) so now I’ll have to wait to see
I don’t behave the right way. if he accepts the request.
I don’t date the right way.
I don’t eat, sleep, talk, walk or work the right way. I can recite the whole Pride and Prejudice
And now you ask, what is the right way then. movie (2005) almost to perfection.
You tell me and I’ll do the opposite. 
There’s nothing wrong being wrong.  submit your own
3< welcome to the world <3 secret anytime here:
The only time when I’m right is when I’m wrong, and that’s all the time.
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Crossword// 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Liina Ristisanatehtävä
#31 by LWM 13 14 15

ACROSS 16 17 18

1. Persian version of an
19 20 21
interfluve; slang for possible?

Aalto
5. Heavier Apple cousin 22 23 24
9. Animal poop or vocal jazz

Answers are in English except when it’s a translation or a specific cultural term. All accents should be ignored. The puzzle is shamelessly Helsinki and foreigner inspired.
improv 25 26 27 28 29 30

- 13. Pinned hair style

14. _ ____ find! A gem.
15. Relating to poison 35 36
31 32

37
33

38 39
34

Setälä 16. NW-ern most Mexican

state, for short
17. Prefix or suffix relating to
40 41 42 43

44 45 46 47 48 49
‘world’ or ‘universe’
18. Give off 50 51 52
19. Annoying pet accessory
21. Short story with a moral 53 54 55 56 57

22. Edinburgh University

58 59 60
Solution of Lime
23. Filmaker Bergman 61 62 63
25. Makes a musical group
with a number 64 65 66

www.aaltosetala.com 26. American sparkling water

with a cult following
@linaltosetla
28. Comedian Margaret
31. Planet buddy or bum
upcoming exhibition: exposure
33. Jon Snow’s lover, abbr.
Utopias Lahti 34. Front calf
Visual Arts Festival 35. Dozenth
38. French city defended by
66. Two non-answers for forms, 39. Light beam
abbrs. 42. Spicy Spanish sausage
DOWN 45. Sound 39 Across might make
1. Post-reggae tracks played 46. Swiss mountain songs
2. Not transparent 48. Marcus luxury store
3. Small alteration 49. Flower used to treat bruises
4. Feather scarf + Esperanto abbr. 50. Super light wood

by Liina Aalto-Setälä
10.5.–4.6.2023, Lahti.
Joan of Arc, or Cape Cod town 5. Sexual 52. Soviet Union creator
40. Magician’s baton 6. Brick or stone work 53. With door, relationship, or
What do you call yourself 41. Repeated air gulping, 7. Two types of boots container
- a creative, activist, abbr. 8. Nonreligious AD 54. Sushi wrapper
curator, collector? How 43. Steel-cut, rolled, or instant 9. Tallow, Greek 55. Animation film, for short
do they intersect? 44. Proudly gay 10. Hair fork 57. English as a foreign language,
reflection was a bad omen, even an omen of 45. Greek gentle breezes 11. Stalk and branch angle abbr.
Usually just a visual artist, since it is my main
death. On the other hand, a broken mirror was 47. Japanese airline 12. Canvas bag 62. Sheep sound
practice. But I also do some activist work in
also thought to be a lucky incident, since some 50. Strong woody grass 14. Dismayed interjection! or
Elokapina and have been working as a curator,
forces were protecting you from seeing the 51. Not younger one to be Nantucket airport code
even though I am now taking a break from
difficulties that lay ahead. Small babies were respected 20. Every bit
curatorial activities. I find it hard to split my
also protected from their own reflection. The soul 53. Where different beers are 21. Extinct facsimile transmitter (#30 - solution)
concentration into multiple big things at the
was believed to be a separate part of the human offered 24. Reflector
same time. 27. Meaningful song
being, which did not settle in the child at birth but 56. Got take-out
Do you have a personal manifesto? 58. Used for reflecting in a 28. Cartoonist creator of
could wander near for a long time. The human
At the core of my thinking is the power of stories. courtyard Wednesday’s family
soul was not fully attached until the first tooth
They shape the way we think of the world and 59. Sjöberg or Frahm 29. Hebrew liquid unit ~ 5 litres or
erupted. If during this time it sees the child’s
help us learn and unlearn. So indirectly, they 60. Japanese word for wave, 1 gallon
image in a mirror, it might accidentally attach
also shape the world itself. In our modern or new nail place in Kurvi 30. Some serious dating profiles
itself to the reflection instead of the infant.
capitalistic society we tend to put value on 61. Greek god of love say no these, abbr.
:

What are your current hobbies, works, and/or

concrete, measurable things. But the best things 62. Ring gem frame 32. Like ruins and relics
passion projects? 34. Collective group
in life are immaterial. I am constantly amazed 63. Lighter Apple cousin
I am learning to crochet and darn clothes. Also
e

by stories, both ancient and brand new alike. It 64. Songstress Simone 35. How many it takes to tango
I’m learning to identify more plants and animals. 65. British online fashion 36. A Finnish wow!
feels important to put value on something that
I often text my parents pictures of things I retailer 37. Femur + pelvis
v

can’t be measured in money.

don’t recognise (plants and trees for mom and
How did your creative practice begin?
animals and rocks for dad) since they are old-
I just went through a huge pile of my childhood
i

school and know this stuff.

drawings that are full of trippy images, so I
What is your relationship with nature? Do
guess the creativity has always been there.
you act as a mediator, reflector, advocate?
s

I’m lucky in the sense that my creativity was

I do not think there is a separate thing called
never discouraged, and instead it has been
nature. In our modern language we talk about
u

able to grow and flourish throughout the years.

nature as something other, often forgetting
But more recently, graduating from Aalto and
that we are a part of it. There is just my human
entering the art world was a big stepping stone
l

nature, my animal nature, inhabiting this planet.

for me, because I realized I don’t have to limit
My most tranquil moments are when I remember
myself to one medium. The university didn’t
c

that I am a part of this world, so it is my duty to

offer many opportunities to experiment outside
take care of it. Living in a city is hard, because
by Lù @lu.isanameof.gem

your own field. Seeing different ways of mixing

of the detachment from other species. I would
x

mediums and making art helped me to find my

love to interact more with wild animals in my
own voice.
everyday life. And I wish I lived closer to a forest.
What is your favorite tool?
e

My favorite beings are really old trees. It feels

I love all of them! And I’m constantly itching
amazing to me, that there are these hundreds of
to learn new techniques. But if I was forced
years old ancient creatures, way older than the
:

to choose one, it would probably be clay. My

country I live in, just chilling in the forest.
mother, grandmothers and great-grandmother
Your work makes us think of another
w

were all non-professional ceramicists, so I feel

world, sometimes a fantasy world, others a
like I have a transgenerational connection to it.
microscopic scientific world. If that was the
Clay is a living material. It has a memory and its
e

case, what would be a micro short story you

own will, so you are never in total control of the
might want to tell with it?
final product. When I’m working with clay, it feels
I would like to quote the poet Tomas Tranströmer
i

like I am working together with another creature

here, with a small modification: “Each creature is
or forces of the earth.
a half-open door leading to a room that belongs
v

What are you currently reflecting on?

to everyone.”
I have had a hard time dealing with climate
What do all the textures you use in your work
grief and finding my own place in a world that is
r

mean to you?
currently heading towards destruction with foot
Handicraft is an essential part of my work. I
on a gas pedal. There is a sense of dissociation,
want to embrace the roughness that different
e

when you are split in between two realities; our

materials have to offer, and their own natural
ecosystems are collapsing at alarming speed,
qualities. I like works that are unpolished, and I
yet life around you is continuing business as
t

strive for that in my own practice as well.

usual. It was difficult to come to terms with the
Does your practice have different seasons?
fact that we have already lost the opportunity to
n

I am trying to modify my work to fit more into

prevent the worst from happening, and that the
the traditional Finnish calendar. It has a lot of
things I love and care about are now in danger.
no-work holidays in the winter season, which I
i

I have been dealing with the anger and grief by

like since I have trouble recognising when I have
reconnecting with my roots. In the core of Balto-
worked too much and need a little bit of time off.
:

Finnic folk culture is a strong connection to your

For example, I just celebrated Talvi-Matti (also
environment and respect for other living things.
called Varis-Matti or Kevät-Matti), in which the
This worldview reflects my own. I find solace in
bear turns in its winter nest and is bothered if
these traditional customs and knowledge, which
one does any work on that day. I had a day off,
have helped me to repair my own connection
went to see some exhibitions and spent the rest
with the living world. Recently I have also started
of the day reading in my bed. Time in Balto-
to address these themes in my artistic practice.
Finnic folklore is always cyclic, never linear, so
Do you have any superstitions around
there is a constant idea of death, rebirth, letting
mirrors?
go and starting anew. This idea feels comforting
Not personally, but there are some lesser known
to me.
stories in Balto-Finnic lore that I find interesting.
Less is more or more is not enough?
By looking into the reflection, people believed
More is more.
they could see directly into their souls. Warped

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