Such a Happy Child
Such a Happy Child (Lehtinen & Goldblatt 2022) is an immersive body horror piece that combines installation and larp. It discusses themes like capitalist individualism, self as a project, fear of otherness and the culture of silence.
You can experience Such a happy child as an exhibition or sign up for a run of the larp. The exhibition does not have roleplay-elements.
In the larp you take the roles of a family with a toxic mindset of success. The family gathers to examine the unnerving contents of a small box that was meant to stay hidden.
larp: Pihla Lehtinen
installation: Tonja Goldblatt
sound: Camille Auer
the style of horror we’re going for
Surreal body horror aiming to be experienced in the body of the participant. Engages the participants body through mental images (connotations, allegories) and by haptic experience (participant interacting with nasty stuff they examine).
Atmosphere of unease and anxiousness, with no closure.
No jump scares.
content notes
- the installation contains human hair, nail clippings and teeth
- an ambivalent theme of (a supernatural) mental illness is implied
- the larp also touches on (but not centers) the theme of eating and orthorexia
- the piece does NOT have any references to sexual violence, addictions, or suicide
7.9. - 25.9. 2022 at Oksasenkatu 11 gallery, Helsinki
opening 6.9. 17-20
exhibition open
- wed-fri 14-20
- + closing weekend 24.-25.9. 12-18
larp runs
- 10.9. / 11.9. / 17.9. / 18.9. 14-20
- five participant spots per run
- materials in English, play in English or Finnish depending on participants
- no preparation: everything from picking characters and briefing to after game debriefing happens within the six hour duration
- no participation fee
Such a Happy Child is supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation and Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
