On the Third Day
On the Third Day, 2024 is an installation that combines a large-scale video projection of moving flower petals with a small, intimate animation depicting a cockroach waking up in a cave. The roach does not know how it ended up there and it has three days to figure it out if it wishes to remain alive. Both parts of the work are around 10 minutes.
The name of the artwork is a reference not just to the Biblical account of the Son of God rising up from the dead on the third day but to resurrection myths dating from ancient Egypt and Greece. The exhibition is focused on a signature theme of Tammi’s production: the unsettling liminal state between life and death.
The abundance of beautiful flower petals – reminiscent of the celebratory oil painting by the artist, Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912) from 1888 – conceals a disturbing secret, which threatens to be revealed at any moment.
The narrative of the animation is co-written by Juhani Karila and Maija Tammi with animation by Teemu Hotti and voice acting by Laura Birn. Charles Quevillon has created the sound design. The work was commissioned by MU Hybrid Art House in 2024. The exhibition at Gallery Heino also included a diptych Roaches of Heliogabalus and a computer game Roach in which one can try to survive as a cockroach.
The research of the artwork was graciously helped by Ryan Arvidson, associate professor in biochemistry, Case Western Reserve University. The artwork is accompanied by an interview with researcher Floortje Bouwkamp titled: Our Brain Predicts – and Hallucinates – what we see.
