Sauna, the most sacred place for the Finns. The place for bathing and relaxing. The place for silence. The place for being. The place where women gave birth, heelers healed the sick and families washed the deads for the last journey.

Löyly is a performance exploration of bodily presence and a state of being related to Finnish sauna. Sitting on the bench opposite to the performer, the piece creates an intermediate place for the audience to observe and share an intimate exploration from the place, to the body, to the self.

With the considered touch and the gestures of washing, the hands trace the bare skin. There is strong identity between the skin and the sensation of home within.

This piece was created as part of my MA Performance Making degree in spring 2021.

The piece was supervised by Simon Vincezi.