KAI RUOHONEN

I work as an individual artist, as a part of the KO-KOO-MO team when working with the block method, and as a producer in Poriginal Gallery of the Pori Art Museum. For me, art means human acts that do not need to be structured into an understandable form, but that can help understand the world, and the people in it.

 

I’ve facilitated art-based workshops for people form different age groups, cultures, and social background. Working in Eritrea, I coordinated, together with the Finnish Foreign Ministry’s embassy, a cultural event for children called Playing Human. In Namibia, I organized workshops for children with AIDS; in Mosambique, for children and youth with disabilities; in South Africa, for kids living in an orphanage. In China, I organized workshops for autistic children, elderly people in care facilities, and healthcare students. These workshops were carried out with the help of a digital application, developed in connection with the KO-KOO-MO method. In Finland I’ve held workshops as a part of my own artistic projects, in relation to the KO-KOO-MO concept, and as a museum professional.

 

My artistic works centers on developing aids that facilitate dialog that crosses interfaces through play. For me, the starting point for playing – that is, any creative action – is the traditional, universal building block. For me block building is a form of sculpture.

 

I’ve been developing my own set of blocks, called the Human-Shaped Reconstruction Kit (registered trademark), since 2007. The reconstruction block set is a living, interactive sculpture that describes the human infrastructure; it’s a selection of geometric shapes that gives the user a possibility to express themselves, both as a builder and a breaker. Human-shaped reconstruction kit is the core of the KO-KOO-MO concept. The concept is
based on design, invigorating, and insight, using the means of both plastic and performing arts.