Olli Aarni and Maarit Bau Mustonen’s work girdėjau daug tokių / Olen kuullut monia tällaisia asioita (2024) is a bilingual site-specific artist's publication in Lithuanian and Finnish. It consists of sounds recorded in Lithuania and transformed into a printed form. The work traces and records the experience of exploring a new place and language through sounds.

The sensitive, absurd, and fragmented text of the publication is composed of language collected from a poetry club and a quiz, translated in real time from Lithuanian into Finnish using the listening function of the Google Translator mobile app. The translator has at least partially misinterpreted what it has heard. 

The publication contains field recordings made in Švenčionėliai. These sounds have been transmitted through speakers to the cover images of books removed from the local library’s collection while scanning them. The images have been vibrated by sounds such as the Žeimena river, a freight wagon on a windy day, and the low hum of the malt factory at night.

The publication consists of a large folding paper sheet, a loose cover and an obi strip, with graphic design by Tytti Halonen.

The work was commissioned by Trainspotting Art Residency in Svenčionėliai, and it is published by Multipöly, a Helsinki-based experimental publishing collective.

girdėjau daug tokių / Olen kuullut monia tällaisia asioita
Artists: Olli Aarni & Maarit Bau Mustonen
Graphic design: Tytti Halonen 
Size: 8 x 17 cm (folded), 70 x 50 cm (unfolded)
Languages: Lithuanian and Finnish 
Edition of 200 copies
ISBN 978-952-65122-2-8
Publisher: Multipöly
Year: 2024
For sale at:
Nide Freda (Helsinki)
Multipöly (Helsinki)
Vallilan Panimo (Helsinki)
12:15 Reading Room (Vilnius)
Six Chairs Book (Lithuania) 

Read more about the work:
Aarni & Bau Mustonen: ašytojas šitą eilėraštis rytas yra (tämän runon kirjoittaja on aamu), Tuli & Savu 1/2024
Aarni & Bau Mustonen: Making friends while collaborating, Multipöly Autumn School Papers 2023
back to top