MIKKO NIEMISTÖ

Glass Eyes, a stage piece by Mikko Niemistö and his working group, unfolds a distorted human experiment where medicine and mysticism intertwine.  

Glass Eyes delves into imagery referencing healthcare, mortality and exorcism, often obscuring who and what acts as the initiator of movement. Drawing inspiration from a time before and beyond the dominance of Western medicine, Glass Eyes channels the sterility of hospitals alongside traditional healing practices and spells. 

By opening portals to mysticism, Glass Eyes challenges the idea of the human body as something solely explainable through science. Its corporeality shifts between the clinical detachment of the medical gaze and surreal, dreamlike states. At times, the piece ventures into the imagery of popular culture and horror films, with the performers moving as if possessed –manipulated by unseen forces and one another. 

Visually, Glass Eyes transforms the stage into a mash-up of an anatomical theatre and a ritual site. Sofia Palillo’s spatial and lighting design, with its use of glass elements, conjures images of laboratory equipment, organic fluids and fragmented body parts. Siru Kosonen’s costume design interacts with the space and highlights the materiality of the performing bodies. On stage, performers Marika Peura and Mikko Niemistö join musician Elias Riipinen, whose autopsy of the violin oscillates between symphonic reverence and raw, tearing noise. 

PLEASE NOTE! The performance is not wheelchair accessible. The audience will be located on the stage where the access is via staircase.
Age recommendation 13+
Duration 50 minutes

Concept and choreography Mikko Niemistö 
Performers Marika Peura, Elias Riipinen, Mikko Niemistö 
Composition, sound design and violin Elias Riipinen 
Spatial design Sofia Palillo and Kristian Palmu 
Lighting design Kristian Palmu 
Costume design Siru Kosonen 
Producer Soili Huhtakallio 
Production Mikko Niemistö, Zodiak – Centre for New Dance 
Supported by Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation, The Finnish Cultural Foundation,
Arts Pormotion Center Finland; Institut Finlandais, as a part of the pARTir iniative funded by the European Union’s NextGenerationEU Programme. 
Photos Jussi Ulkuniemi
Premiere 8.5.2025 at Zodiak – Center for New Dance, Helsinki

Mikko Niemistö is a Helsinki-based choreographer whose works study self-formation through silent knowledge and accumulation of body memories. Often exploring the fragmented realities of contemporary culture and things that linger in the background, such as noise and the flow of consciousness, Mikko has recently been focusing on the shadows of everyday reality – dreams, psychedelia and the supernatural. His latest works have been performed at venues and events such as Moving in November, Vienna’s ImPulsTanz, Zodiak – Center for New Dance and Malmö’s Inkonst. Mikko received an MFA in choreography from the Stockholm University of the Arts in 2017. 

Marika Peura is a multidisciplinary dance artist based in Helsinki. With a background in street dance and an MA in choreography, she works across dance and performance, exploring the emotional, poetic and political dimensions of the experiential body. Marika is a 2020 graduate of Uniarts Helsinki. 

Elias Riipinen is a Finnish-Italian violinist, composer and songwriter, also known as Elia Lombardini when performing solo. Elias collaborates across music, film, visual and performing arts, and enjoys spending time with sound technology and self-built instruments and equipment. 

Sofia Palillo is a Helsinki-based visual artist who is fascinated by spaces, atmospheres and landscapes. A 2020 graduate of Uniarts Helsinki’s master’s degree program in lighting design, she works as a lighting designer and scenographer in performing arts productions. Sofia embraces equal working environments, courage and collectivity. 

Kristian Palmu works with light and space, shaping shadows and impressions of color. He graduated with an MA in lighting design from Uniarts Helsinki in 2017. Kristian gets inspired by dark rooms, late-fall puddles and vintage glass. His works have been described as poetic, experimental, finely crafted and cute. 

Siru Kosonen is a performance and visual artist living in Helsinki. With a recycling-oriented and intuitive approach, she focuses on corporeal exploration and the eternal play of material possibilities.