ROR ABC
Revolutions On Request
Serlachius Manor 23.3.2024—23.3.2025
Did someone order a revolution? ROR is Back! But what is ROR? How does ROR look, feel, sound? Is it art or circuses?
In 2000, ROR came, saw and conquered the world, until it got lost in its own stardust. Commissioned by the Serlachius, it returns from the future, bringing with it a wonderful alphabet that creates a new ROR world.
The exhibition has been designed and curated by the ROR group: Petri Ala-Maunus, Jiri Geller, Alvar Gullichsen and Ilse Rossander. ROR has also invited artists to participate: Riikka Hyvönen, Juho Juntunen, Nikolo Kerimov, Isto Kotavuopio, Sanna-Mari Liukkonen (1975–2020), Mr. Lordi, Painter Jude, Paula Pääkkönen, Pekko Vasantola, Vilunki 3000, Sheung Yiu and Ro Zahir.
ROR ABC is Exciting, Entertaining, Explosive, Outrageously Fun!
The curators of ROR ABC talk about the exhibition
Jiri Geller, Alvar Gullichsen, Ilse Rossander and Petri Ala-Maunus tell you what ROR is and how the ROR ABC exhibition came about.
What does ROR mean?
ROR – Revolutions On Request is a Helsinki-based artist collective. Initially, the group consisted of an ever-changing number of representatives from different fields of visual, industrial art and music. They gradually formed a smaller group of artists with varying compositions, whose actions eventually focused entirely on contemporary art.
The central themes of ROR art have been criticism of belief in technology, phenomena of rock and pop culture, psychedelia, traditional craftsmanship combined with modern techniques as well as media and traditions of optical illusions.
ROR art is characteristically made or produced by a group, born of or compatible with the ROR philosophy. If necessary, visitors have also been invited: visual artists, musicians, artisans and inventors. The main thing is a particular ROR attitude: “Keep It Simple Stupid!” The group has been compared to Fluxus in terms of its art, intermediality and philosophy.
What has ROR done?
The ROR Group made its breakthrough in 2001 at Kiasma with the UTOPIA exhibition. Since then, ROR has participated in various invited and group exhibitions around the world and has also produced international mass exhibitions itself.
From 2003 to 2004, ROR maintained the ROR gallery it founded in Kallio, Helsinki, where its own and invited exhibitions were curated. The guiding principle of the gallery was to reach people who are not usually visited by art galleries.
The ROR group’s last public appearance was in 2008. With its current composition, the group has been operating since 2020.
Note! The exhibition includes an interactive work that extracts image and sound from the space. No pictures or sounds are recorded.
