Small Block Box – Kai Ruohonen
The Small Block Box is designed and produced to function as a tool primarily in the field of visual arts, in exhibition and workshop activities. However, it is also applicable in private and self-directed play events, independent of context. The concept’s operational domain is not strictly defined, but it can be placed at the intersection of art and play; where classifying it under a specific area of human activity is not crucial for its implementation.
The Small Block Box contains tools for play, functional interpretations created through their use, play events with documentation, and interdisciplinary applications. The box does not have a specific age or target group; it can be adapted to various needs. The concept aims to be culture-independent, and it can be incorporated into different cultural contexts. The associated Ko-koo-mo workshop has been conducted for children with disabilities in Mozambique, among other places.
At the Poriginal Gallery, the Small Block Box is turned upside down: the space contains a pile of blocks, reflecting the box’s essence. From this small pile, a human-shaped reconstruction series can be perceived—depicting a human or a mechanism of human activity. The human-shaped reconstruction series is a tool: it is, like its concept, a means to achieve a desired outcome, with structural and functional realities as its conditions; the construction set is a technical solution that follows the meaning chosen by its user.
The human-shaped reconstruction series can guide but not provide absolute instructions for its use: it serves as a receptive and adaptable tool, placed by the user in different thematic contexts. The form and content of the human-shaped reconstruction series are determined through the events it creates. The term “reconstruction series” refers to a human need and ability to rise again from the various stages of instability, stumbling, or being tripped up; either as the previous reconstruction or as an entirely new structural solution.
The role of the Small Block Box is to function as a producer of materials and an enabler of events, as well as a recorder and exhibitor of the resulting material. The goal is to connect the implementation with the executor, not the concept or its creator: to make the concept perpetually valid in its lifecycle and as detached as possible from its creator, in a user-driven situation that can be realized anywhere and at any time without external initiation or guidance. In line with this goal, a website, www.palikkakasa.fi, will be launched in September. The site will present the concept, the workshop section, and a gallery for displaying the materials produced.
The funding for the interactive exhibition at Poriginal Gallery and online: The Cultural Foundation of Finland, Satakunta Fund.
This text was created with AI assistance.