Aku Matti Ilari Meriläinen

Aku Meriläinen (they/he) is a media artist and researcher who develops practices beyond the normative expectations in works that integrate digital technologies and performing arts.

At the moment they are interested in combining artistic processes with new technologies to identify discriminatory cultural features from the crip perspective.

In their artistic research project Crip Sex Worker (@Nakurampa on Instagram) they have started to do online sex work as a non-binary person that lives with Multiple Sclerosis. The project aims to challenge the dominant male gaze in porn from a queer and anti-ableist perspective and to diverse the ways disability is perceived. Crip Sex Worker is a collaboration with photographer Tuisku Lehto.