LIISI SOROUSH [ ARYA SO ]
AD & ARTIST & ACTIVIST
#Ethical & Sustainable AI & Technology #EmbodiedInteraction #Somadesign #Multisensorial #Post-Phenomenological #Digital & Procedural Writing & Poetry #RhythmAnalysis #Site-Specific #Data #Audioscape design #Multisensorial #InvestigativeJournalism #PlacesSpacesEnviroments #Human-MaterialInteraction #Activism #OpenSocietyAdvocacy #Surveillance & WarTechnology #HybridWar #Old Power vs New Power #TechOligarcs #Transhuman #TheSpace #OpenGLAM #MyData
#culturalheritageatrisk #Bats<3
FINLAND FINLAND YOU CAN´T HIDE YOU’RE SUPPORTING GENOCIDE
︎︎︎
About
Liisi Soroush observes embodied and spatial realities. Her main tools for elaborating the concepts in these experimental and site-specific co-creations are found at the interplay between various philosophies and technologies.
ONGOING OR OLD NEWS
The period from 2023 to 2025 was a dedicated sabbatical focused on intensive family stewardship and navigating complex systemic challenges. My primary focus was securing the well-being of my neurodivergent child, which required a full-time commitment to creating a stable, grounding environment. This involved planning and implementing a daily routine rich in nature - forest and seaside and sensory-therapeutic experiences to counter prior institutional traumas and support their neurological development. We had three daycares with unprofessional and unhealthy environment and our family, but especially our child has had heavy experiences out of those situations. By the time they were 4 years old, they started 5th daycare group.
Fortunately it has been amazing and they have resolved many of their traumas, but still many to navigate through.
Parallel to this, I was fully engaged with the social service and public healthcare sectors to construct a necessary support network for my child. Meanwhile I had simultaneously significant personal health challenges, managing two chronic conditions—endometriosis and surgically-induced menopause. Facing a lack of adequate care domestically, including the non-recognition of a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer, I independently researched and secured a viable treatment pathway through international medical consultation, now managing my healthcare transnationally. I still currently receive my HRT from overseas Spain. Neither local public health care nor KELA approves my treatment even I have stopped living with heavy chronic pain resembeling somebody stabbing my abdominal area, which continued non-stop between 2020-2025 spring and was followed with serious depression. Here in Finland I am treated only with estrogen which enhances both the endometriosis growth and risk for the cancer, not to mention depression.
This multi-year experience was a profound exercise in resilience, strategic problem-solving, and navigating bureaucratic and medical systems under duress. I successfully emerged from this period with my health stabilized, my child securely placed in a supportive professional environment, and a deepened capacity for managing uncertainty and building structures of care from the ground up. As a multicultural family without an extended local support network, this also refined my ability to operate with autonomy and resourcefulness in high-stakes situations.
All of these considering my priveledged positioning and location in Global North.....
- My current drive is fueled by a profound sense of anger and frustration.
But there is not enough words to describe the emotional state of being whilst all of “just” witnessing the genocide real-time.....
This fall/spring
BUT THE TRUE RESISTANCE IS FOUND IN ACTION: CURRENTLY I AM LOOKING INTO CHURCH CAMPAIGN IN A CONTEXT OF SUMUD, althought my artistic practise has been looking into actors that has been similar in content with“Justice not Arms” and Laki Särmään where my artistic dialogue partner Jenna Jauhianen has been very active with.
KIND NOTE: After pandemic isolation in baby-and toddler related mayhem, we landed straight to daycare crisis in Helsinki. From the very beginning we have made sure, that we are present for our child. Afterall for over a year our child did not have any other people than us. As multicultural family ( Finnish-Iranian-Spanish-Colombian) our networks are unexisting. Finally we have found a safe place for him at Spanish speaking daycare celebrating latino cultures in their richest variety....
Meanwhile I am establishing new ways on art-of-being and as maintaining passionate -focused -artist-explorer. Therefore, co-participating on and facilitating this discourse with fellow-female-mother-artists.....
Please do execuse my site being under construction, updates from 2019-2021 upcoming when back to studio full-time. Updated CV & portfolio material sent in request.
2022-23
We have finalised our Digital Creative programme. It was a enlightening experience on finding how to bring creative talent to the business world.
However I will focus on my academic life this upcoming year 2023 but will evolve
within the possibilites enabled by the programme slow-paced.
We are in search of a funding in terms of a possible project with a strong political and societal value ( activism and censorship). This project will be then under the consulation from and in collaboration KTH.
It is confirmed: our Hamistagan will be presented at WAM,City Museum of Turku 2023.
I have been selected among other 15 participants by Aalto Digital Creativest to participate incubator programme that will take place at the end of the year 22.
This will allow me to integrate creative and artistic thinking in real life innovative implementations in near and further future scenarios.
I have attended a Bellingcat - tool kit- course day provided by them, lucky me - I am a huge fan, looking forward for speculative design implementation and collaboration #radicalchange
2 works presented at MozFest Amsterdam on March, 2022, --------------------my lecture was looking into future hybrid war scenarios from the perspective of technology, surveillance, data, mediated warscapes from film to social media ...
https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/#/
We are collaborating with https://www.creative-ai-project.se from KTH University, Sweden together with hatespeech research group, more info below
23.09.2022
Today I will continue with a learning curve and hoping to get indephts of felting as a handcraft and perceive tacit knowledgethrough it. Not to mention felt as a material itself has a very strong and intuitive agency and feed back loop together with a craftswoman. Along its properties I am looking forward on tacit experimenting and deepening my understanding on soma design theory and methods.
Not to mention, I am looking forward how to implement it in my upcoming design explorations. The first time I learn to know about it was at raw materials course conducted by designer Milla Vaahtera, wherefrom I continued to human-material interaction by PhD Bilge Aktas and she observes also my artistic outcome (project iFelt in my portfolio) in her “Human-Material Interaction: Examining the Material Agency Concept in Making Processes”.
Both of these lecturers have been enormous inspiration for me.
11.2021
We have started a constructive dialogue with Petra Jääskeläinen, researcher in Creative-AI, working for the Ai and the Artistic Imaginary research project at KTH University, Sweden. Together with Petra and the research group, we will discuss our cretaive process, challenges and questions derive from it and connecting these with the ethical, sustainable and ownership perspectives that the research team is working with.
11.2021 Aleksi Knuutila and his research team from Vastapuhe.fi Vastapuhe.fi have shown interest in our project and are now consulting us on the topics of hate speech & online hatred.
More information on Aleksi Knuutila's project can be found on the Vastapuhe.fi website and HAFECT research project's website.
11.2021 Liisi is attending the Space for Humanity bootcamp organised by the DareDisrupt, Founders of Tomorrow.
11.2021 Our work {[[(爱 (ài) <3)*], (<3 爱 (ài))*], ((ài) <3 爱)*]]} has been published in nokturno.fi. https://nokturno.fi/vieraskuraattorinumero-ujo-systeemi-vihapuheen-kaantaja-ja-peli-jonka-voi-vain-havita/
10.2021 Liisi received a scholarship to attend the AI-Generated Media online course by the Fluid Interfaces Research Lab, MIT. Her work among multidiscplinary talent from representing biggest existing brands to futuristic research groups was considered as one of the most of creative outcomes.
13-16.10.2021 Our installation WWW is presented at Aaltoja! light & sound art festival in Kotka as part of the Flux Island exhbition. We are going to be invited for further collaboration.
Fortunately it has been amazing and they have resolved many of their traumas, but still many to navigate through.
Parallel to this, I was fully engaged with the social service and public healthcare sectors to construct a necessary support network for my child. Meanwhile I had simultaneously significant personal health challenges, managing two chronic conditions—endometriosis and surgically-induced menopause. Facing a lack of adequate care domestically, including the non-recognition of a genetic predisposition to ovarian cancer, I independently researched and secured a viable treatment pathway through international medical consultation, now managing my healthcare transnationally. I still currently receive my HRT from overseas Spain. Neither local public health care nor KELA approves my treatment even I have stopped living with heavy chronic pain resembeling somebody stabbing my abdominal area, which continued non-stop between 2020-2025 spring and was followed with serious depression. Here in Finland I am treated only with estrogen which enhances both the endometriosis growth and risk for the cancer, not to mention depression.
This multi-year experience was a profound exercise in resilience, strategic problem-solving, and navigating bureaucratic and medical systems under duress. I successfully emerged from this period with my health stabilized, my child securely placed in a supportive professional environment, and a deepened capacity for managing uncertainty and building structures of care from the ground up. As a multicultural family without an extended local support network, this also refined my ability to operate with autonomy and resourcefulness in high-stakes situations.
All of these considering my priveledged positioning and location in Global North.....
- My current drive is fueled by a profound sense of anger and frustration.
But there is not enough words to describe the emotional state of being whilst all of “just” witnessing the genocide real-time.....
This fall/spring
I have become a member of Vartiosaari Artists association, OpenGlam steering group, M-Cult and Sumud, where the first and the latter has brought up new energy in forms of community and meaning. This ongoing genocide has changed my whole ways of existance and it has been hard to find any reason or logic to continue to do anything in life....
- to live a life like anything before. Updating some portfolios with some empty buzz words. All of those reflections have been embedded into our recent two works, taking place in Pori and Turku...
BUT THE TRUE RESISTANCE IS FOUND IN ACTION: CURRENTLY I AM LOOKING INTO CHURCH CAMPAIGN IN A CONTEXT OF SUMUD, althought my artistic practise has been looking into actors that has been similar in content with“Justice not Arms” and Laki Särmään where my artistic dialogue partner Jenna Jauhianen has been very active with.
KIND NOTE: After pandemic isolation in baby-and toddler related mayhem, we landed straight to daycare crisis in Helsinki. From the very beginning we have made sure, that we are present for our child. Afterall for over a year our child did not have any other people than us. As multicultural family ( Finnish-Iranian-Spanish-Colombian) our networks are unexisting. Finally we have found a safe place for him at Spanish speaking daycare celebrating latino cultures in their richest variety....
Meanwhile I am establishing new ways on art-of-being and as maintaining passionate -focused -artist-explorer. Therefore, co-participating on and facilitating this discourse with fellow-female-mother-artists.....
Please do execuse my site being under construction, updates from 2019-2021 upcoming when back to studio full-time. Updated CV & portfolio material sent in request.
2022-23
We have finalised our Digital Creative programme. It was a enlightening experience on finding how to bring creative talent to the business world.
However I will focus on my academic life this upcoming year 2023 but will evolve
within the possibilites enabled by the programme slow-paced.
We are in search of a funding in terms of a possible project with a strong political and societal value ( activism and censorship). This project will be then under the consulation from and in collaboration KTH.
It is confirmed: our Hamistagan will be presented at WAM,City Museum of Turku 2023.
I have been selected among other 15 participants by Aalto Digital Creativest to participate incubator programme that will take place at the end of the year 22.
This will allow me to integrate creative and artistic thinking in real life innovative implementations in near and further future scenarios.
I have attended a Bellingcat - tool kit- course day provided by them, lucky me - I am a huge fan, looking forward for speculative design implementation and collaboration #radicalchange
2 works presented at MozFest Amsterdam on March, 2022, --------------------my lecture was looking into future hybrid war scenarios from the perspective of technology, surveillance, data, mediated warscapes from film to social media ...
https://www.mozillafestival.org/en/#/
We are collaborating with https://www.creative-ai-project.se from KTH University, Sweden together with hatespeech research group, more info below
23.09.2022
Today I will continue with a learning curve and hoping to get indephts of felting as a handcraft and perceive tacit knowledgethrough it. Not to mention felt as a material itself has a very strong and intuitive agency and feed back loop together with a craftswoman. Along its properties I am looking forward on tacit experimenting and deepening my understanding on soma design theory and methods.
Not to mention, I am looking forward how to implement it in my upcoming design explorations. The first time I learn to know about it was at raw materials course conducted by designer Milla Vaahtera, wherefrom I continued to human-material interaction by PhD Bilge Aktas and she observes also my artistic outcome (project iFelt in my portfolio) in her “Human-Material Interaction: Examining the Material Agency Concept in Making Processes”.
Both of these lecturers have been enormous inspiration for me.
11.2021
We have started a constructive dialogue with Petra Jääskeläinen, researcher in Creative-AI, working for the Ai and the Artistic Imaginary research project at KTH University, Sweden. Together with Petra and the research group, we will discuss our cretaive process, challenges and questions derive from it and connecting these with the ethical, sustainable and ownership perspectives that the research team is working with.
11.2021 Aleksi Knuutila and his research team from Vastapuhe.fi Vastapuhe.fi have shown interest in our project and are now consulting us on the topics of hate speech & online hatred.
More information on Aleksi Knuutila's project can be found on the Vastapuhe.fi website and HAFECT research project's website.
11.2021 Liisi is attending the Space for Humanity bootcamp organised by the DareDisrupt, Founders of Tomorrow.
11.2021 Our work {[[(爱 (ài) <3)*], (<3 爱 (ài))*], ((ài) <3 爱)*]]} has been published in nokturno.fi. https://nokturno.fi/vieraskuraattorinumero-ujo-systeemi-vihapuheen-kaantaja-ja-peli-jonka-voi-vain-havita/
10.2021 Liisi received a scholarship to attend the AI-Generated Media online course by the Fluid Interfaces Research Lab, MIT. Her work among multidiscplinary talent from representing biggest existing brands to futuristic research groups was considered as one of the most of creative outcomes.
13-16.10.2021 Our installation WWW is presented at Aaltoja! light & sound art festival in Kotka as part of the Flux Island exhbition. We are going to be invited for further collaboration.
Philosophies & Agendas
#sumud
#stopthegenocide
#culturalheritage@risk
#mediaarcheology
#newmaterialism
#transhumanism
#postphenomenology
#rhythmanalysis
#infraordinary