Don’t Look Back in Anger 2020

21.12.20


Really, that song by Oasis is a classic, totally. (Take my word for that, it’s all you’ve got in this specific virtual location anyhow.)

What is most daunting about this year is that I am not gonna live long enough to fully comprehend where in history this lands (maybe goes swiftly forgotten like the Spanish Flu) and also that maybe sooner rather than later I am gonna look back at it as another absolutely abnormally normal year in my life. 

I mean, it’s a year where buying a rubber toy cow for two euros is not buying a rubber toy cow for two euros, but the most conceptual act a fake art collector could ever make. That deep. And also that meaningless. (Note to self: delete this later, most people won’t get your cow joke.)

I have a million thoughts and feelings about 2020 that I happily (in deep despair and anxiety sprinkled with glimmering hope) share offline or you know... as a well conducted multi layered phenomenal novel written fully in GIFs. But what I am trying to do here is to look back at 2020 in a manner similar to 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. It’s a photo blog life after all. 


So 2020, let’s shake it off (Taylor style, obv!). 



MUSIC

  • Taylor Swift - Ok, so Taylor Swift became my most listened artist on those long daily walks. I just felt like I need some real good girl power and beat in my step. It is essential to note that it all happened before the collaborations with The National guys popped up. It’s important for me to underline that. So you wouldn’t think I am so predictable. ROFL. (I feel like abbreviations will become retro cool in 2021, mark my words. I mean aren’t emojis like so 2020.)
  • Ruusut - What I listened to when not listening to Taylor, basically. There is a lot of irony in that and I am not ashamed to admit it. Maybe a little ashamed. Haha.  
  • The Holy - Their live gig at Tavastia on 2 Oct 2020 was just SO good. They’re so good. (Wow, it is a miracle I am not world-renowned critic and writer.)  
  • Joensuu 1685 - Their live gig Ääniwalli on 23 Oct 2020 was absolutely totally mind-blowing. I am not really sure how they do it. They channel some kind of live music magic energy.
  • Yes, I went to live gigs in 2020. Privilege, totally. (Note to self: another novel in GIFs on what has become a privilege in 2020 and what is still totes normal.)  

ART

  • Doug Aitken “I Only Have Eyes for You” was just… I am so glad I went to see it twice (especially now that Kiasma will re-open only in 2022). I love it when video art wraps itself all around my heart, it’s in many ways rare, but also looking back at 2019 top art experience - when it does it, it does it good. So good. (Take note of my multifaceted vocabulary here.)
  • Ed Atkins “Old Food” reading performance at Kiasma. That voice and those vibes. Somehow the cosiest. All that still in 2020. Before living you best life in tiger print outfits became the new normal. (Yes, I am writing this in leopard print biker shorts, shamelessly so.) 
  • Inspiration - Contemporary Art & Classics at Ateneum.
  • Vello Vinn at Kumu. Totally makes my list of fave Estonian artists. (Note to self: make a list of fave Estonian artists.)
  • I have seen a lot of exhibitions this year as going to museums and galleries was sth that was still available for a large part of the year. (Note: privilege!) Some of favourites were seen at galleries and my top gallery in town is Forsblom (they almost always have sth cool on show). 

VARIA

  • So while taking those long walks listening to Taylor I also became an avid bird enthusiast (wow, like if you've ever seen an exaggeration then this one) and “discovered” Eurasian Oystercatcher - now my fave bird. So awkward, so cool. The bird that is. 
  • I did travel - a mini road trip to Latvia (a country I fell in love with in 2000, so appropriate timing) and some mini trips in Finland. I could totally make a Travelogue update, but I am not feeling like it (not feeling like it is a very 2020 feeling). 
  • My friend got a small summer cottage in the city, so we spent some time there and it was absolutely magical. 
  • And I mean, I have acquired more than one pair of comfy velour pants - this is what dreams are made of.
  • I have practiced gratitude*… for having all those people keeping me sane. (If this were a one sentence summary then this would be it. Nothing else is needed.) * As hollow as it sounds, it's not.
  • I’ve done many "normal things" I love, yet I feel it’s too soon to look back at 2020 like it has been just another year. After all, isn't it still only March. 
  • So let’s just call it a night and wrap up with a Xmassy photo (taken at one of my fave places in Helsinki - Hietaniemi Cemetery).  



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