The first Artist-in-Residence, artist-director Marita Liulia (2012)

The first artist of Aalto's Artist-in-Residence program was artist-director Marita Liulia. Liulia has been successful in many fields of art and has combined them in her productions. Liulia's works have been featured in 45 countries and she has cooperated especially with professionals of dance, new technology and music.

During her residency, Liulia produced a short film ‘Return of the Goddess’ (2012, 20 min.), combining film, modern dance and new technology. The film had its premiere at the Helsinki Festival in August 2012.

On the outskirts of a ruined city (Kharkiv, East Ukraine) a disillusioned young man is suddenly faced with a goddess (played by dancer Virpi Pahkinen). This is the start of a spiritual journey into the vastness of nature and into sacred works of art. The goddess tells her tale of lost freedom, destruction and rebirth in a graceful dance. Life does not disappear, it constantly changes. Ultimately, do human beings destroy anything but themselves? Return of the Goddess was filmed in East Ukraine (just before war), at the deserts of Utah and Arizona, and the temples of Tunisia and India. Music is composed and performed by Iranian-born singer Sussan Deyhim and Richard Horowitz. The film was the first part of Liulia’s Death of Dance trilogy of short films.