24.3.2026 15.00 – 16.00
Address: Nordic Culture Point, Suomenlinna B28
Language: English

Welcome to an Open Studio with artist Tianjun LI (CN/FI), where he will present his latest work and share experiences from Residency B28. Free admission.

During the residency, Tianjun Li will expand the project Free as Birds (2024 onwards) into new chapters. This project is an interdisciplinary exploration of the parallel journeys of birds and humans through images, video, the human voice, and collective performances. It examines the human association of birds with freedom and observes how contemporary realities of displacement, restricted mobility, and environmental devastation affect this concept. After developing the work across multiple islands in Europe following the trajectory of migratory birds, the project returns to Suomenlinna, where the initial work began in 2024. One significant strand of experiments involves the dialogue between AI language models and the human voice. In these chapters, local birdsongs are translated into speculative bird languages. These languages are then reinterpreted and performed through vocal practices to collaboratively reimagine the experience of being free as birds in the form of Bird Song Choirs.

Tianjun will also explore new works through performances utilizing the voice and body. These performances aim to rethink human resonance in connections that extend beyond the human realm.

During the Open Studio, the visitors are welcome to join in a session of Bird Song Choir practice.

About the artist
Tianjun Li (CN/FI), also known as Timjune, is a visual artist, musician, and experimental vocalist based in Finland. Li works with photography, video, and a four octave vocal range to create sonic and visual landscapes. In these environments, beings other than human emerge as metaphors for social and ecological realities. Li holds a master’s degree in Visual Cultures, Curating, and Contemporary Art, alongside a minor in Sound in New Media from Aalto University.