A POLITE FRIEND – Laura Laukkanen

Laura Laukkanen presents a video installation at the Poriginal Gallery. The work continues Laukkanen’s exhibition series exploring politeness and kindness.

The installation is heavily influenced by the writings of two social psychologists: Erving Goffman and Norbert Elias. In their texts, they frequently use examples related to dining. The researchers link these examples to the development of behavior and emotions. While Goffman studied practices in mental hospitals, Elias focused on court life in the 1500s.

Norbert Elias sees a broad developmental trajectory in the change of manners. The more clearly we observe ourselves and others as individuals, the more we avoid physical contact between bodies. The idea of other people’s saliva, hands, and mouths mixing with our food evokes shame. According to Elias, manners have been built as an invisible protective wall. They prevent the mixing of bodies.

Kathryn Hulme wrote a partially true story, The Nun’s Story, in the early 20th century. Social psychologist Erving Goffman refers to the novel in his classic book The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.

One of the punishments in the convent was the “begging bowl.” The nun suffering the punishment begged for soup from the other inhabitants of the convent, one spoonful at a time. What was essential in the punishment was that the nuns only shared their portion after they had started eating. The begging continued until the youngest nun had shared from her portion, and the bowl had been filled. The nun had to endure the punishment without showing any emotions.

Neither Goffman nor Elias primarily study kindness. Nevertheless, the path from politeness to kindness is not long. The video installation presents a series of table manners. There is a difference in their tone depending on whether they are used among friends or in a polite dinner party.

The exhibition is supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Laura Laukkanen (born 1984) is a visual artist from Tampere. She graduated as a visual artist from Tampere University of Applied Sciences in 2013. Laukkanen mainly works through installation art. In her works, she addresses everyday certainties and uses materials that have become invisible due to their ordinariness—objects, phenomena, and gestures. Laukkanen is a member of the Tehonrakentajat collective and the Tampere Art Hall studio community.

Translated with ChatGPT