23.5. – 17.6.2026

Opening on Saturday 23.5. 13:00 – 16:00
Opening speech: chairperson of MUU Minka Heino

Vibrating Distance is a multi-channel sound installation consisting of metal plates. The work aims to materialize the sensation of distance; to create an audible and tangible feeling for the experience of distance. The sounds produced by the plates are a sort of cries into the distance, cautious or furious calls for communication. Sudden outbursts of the need to fill the surrounding distance. The soundtrack played by each plate is different. Sometimes the plates are silent and as if listening to each other’s distant, cautious whispers. Sometimes they join together to sound strongly at the same time, seeking momentary harmonies. The low growl of restrained and smooth squares responds to the creaking and squeaking of warped rusty plates, perhaps conveying some kind of distant friction between systemic order and individual experience.

The audio material is a recording of a situation where the plates are sort of played with a microphone. The sound is created by causing a feedback between the microphone and the speaker element attached to the plate, which causes the plate to resonate in various ways. In addition, the sounds produced by the plates are occasionally mixed with the lonely hum of a refrigerator, the distant rumble of a highway, or the monotonous scream of a human being. In addition to sound, the installation can also be experienced visually and through touch. The plates sometimes vibrate strongly and visually. Visitors can also carefully touch the plates.

The exhibition’s connection to the theme of the new north is related to my own experience of living in a relatively northern environment. Northern environment and life include a certain kind of multifaceted experience of distance. For me, distance is not a positive or negative thing. It is not a value, cause, or consequence. Rather, it is a space in which one exists and which is experienced. Distance is realized in addition to remoteness and long distances, in the way of being people and nature, in sounds and landscapes. My work is a simulation of such an experience of distance, through the surfaces of sounds and sensations.

Production of exhibition is supported byFinnish Culture foundation, City of Oulu and arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Mika Kiviniemi (born. 1983, Seinäjoki) is a multidisciplinary performance, visual and media artist living in Oulu. Kiviniemi uses sound, video, devices, objects and performative elements in his work. His background is in the field of performing arts. In recent years, Kiviniemi’s work has consisted of multidisciplinary installations, video works and kinetic sound sculptures. The nature of the works is often found in the combinations of different media and techniques. Kiviniemi graduated from Aalto University’s Visual Culture Curating and Contemporary Art Master’s Programme in 2022. Kiviniemi has held solo exhibitions at, among others, Galleria Huuto in Helsinki, Galleria 5 in Oulu, Mältinranta Art Centre in Tampere an HAA Galleria Helsinki.

My works consist of multidisciplinary installations, video works and kinetic sound sculptures. The background of the works is usually some phenomenon or concept, which I approach playfully by exploring and testing its limits. The nature of the works is often found in the combinations of different media, techniques and starting points. The works I produce are not so much polished objects, but rather performance-like representations of observations and experiences that arise during the work. The works are continuous, changing processes, from which I bring to light the current stage.