Still water

This poetry explores the topic of hate speech and the dissolution of the human presence into the digital. It was created as part of the Vastapuhe (Counter speech) project, funded by the Kone Foundation, which seeks new approaches to the problem of online hostility.

I often found the prevailing discourse around online hate insufficient — unable to fully express the emotional, embodied, and human dimensions of the issue. In response, I turned to poetry, allowing the theme to guide the writing process and open a new expressive register.

To emphasize the tension between digital and “analog” realities, I chose to write the poems entirely by hand. The visual form of the work was shaped with water and snow, rendering the texts painterly — at times even unreadable. However, a book-object included in the installation includes the poems in a readable form.

Writing dozens of poems in cursive is a slow, labor-intensive, and old-fashioned act. This choice is my quiet protest against the compulsive efficiency of the digital world. In this context, analog writing practice becomes a way to reintroduce slowness and effort into communication.

What might happen to our digital interactions if we were required to write each comment by hand — to physically feel the weight and meaning of our words?

Susi Nousiainen is a visual artist (BA) and writer from Eastern Finland. He is currently pursuing a PhD at the University or Lapland, where his research focuses on arts-based and participatory methods in Organization studies. Nousiainen has published a poetry collection and a nonfiction book, and has written essays (for Nuori Voima) and columns (for Yle and Kauppalehti), among other works.
More information Artist' association of Lapland (lapintaiteilijaseura.fi)