Maria Metsalu "Permanent Resident"

"Permanent Resident" is Maria Metsalu’s new solo work, which does not address fear as a temporary emotion, but as part of the fundamental architecture of personality. The performance takes place in a strongly stylised landscape, where the performer’s body exists in a dynamic and paradoxical relationship with its environment. Through movement, sound and poetic metaphors, "Permanent Resident" maps the geology of the psyche, creating a visually and physically demanding investigation into what it means to live intimately with fear that has become home. At the core of the work lies a human question: how do we live with the parts of ourselves that we did not choose? The work moves beyond fear as an emotion to be conquered and presents it as a foundation of identity. "Permanent Resident" deepens a question that runs centrally throughout Metsalu’s practice: what physical effect does the inner landscape of the mind, with its fears, memories and rules, have on the body? Maria Metsalu is an artist whose work focuses on the body as a place and an archive of lived experiences—a central point where social and political issues intermingle. In her performance, she immerses herself in the tension between abject embodiment and flawless high technology. Instead of defining meanings, Metsalu cultivates ambiguity, thereby leaving room for broader interpretation and offering no conceptual final resolution. The artist co-founded the performance collective Young Boy Dancing Group (YBDG) in 2014. Concept, performance, text: Maria Metsalu
Sound: Rodrigo Sobarzo de Larraechea
Landscape: Maria Metsalu, Madlen Hirtentreu
Production assistant: Madlen Hirtentreu
Technicians: Henry Kasch, Kalle Tikas
Construction: Konesko Autotarvik
Lighting: Maria Metsalu, Henry Kasch
Clothing: Kirke Talu, Liisa Kanemägi
MUA: Kristiine Kaljurand
Photographer: Kertin Vasser
Advisor: Jaakko Pallasvuo
Project manager: Kaie Küünal
Co-production: National Museum (Norway), Kanuti Gildi SAAL, Maria Metsalu
Support: Estonian Ministry of Culture, Eesti Kultuurkapital, Estonian Embassy in Oslo, OÜ NOBE
Premiere: 14 April 2026, National Museum (Norway)
Duration: approx. 75 minutes
Language is not an obstacle.