Kalen mutaja is a site specific collaborative work that explores layers of mutations and degeneration of communication, language and stories. The work is based on the rich history of Varjakka island. Currently abandoned, the island has been a lively hub for sawmills, an 80’s summer vacation spot for senior officials, a locally favored outdoor and recreational area full of legends and stories of its rich past. With each artist coming from a different cultural, linguistic and artistic background, inspiration has been found in a shared childhood games Chinese whisper. Using it as a means of communication, Kalen mutaja plays with translation flowers ( käännöskukkasilla ) and looks for new meanings in misunderstandings.

Creating site specific interventions such as: DIY can phone, wallpaper stories and island symphony artist wanted to bring the abandoned island of Varjakka to life as an interdisciplinary experience. Work is envisioned as a participatory process of collaboration between artist themselves, the island and local community. Researching and exploring with different modes of communication the artists wanted to engage the island's visitors in the process of making the work itself. Interactivity and communication became an important part of the project.

These small site specific interventions are spreading over the abandoned Kontori house as a large instruction based installation. The project form is being revealed through visitors own contribution and responses to them, thus charting the experiences of the people who lived on the island and mapping their presence.

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Kalen Mutaja is the first collaboration between three artists that marked the formation of the collective. It was created during a two-week residency in Varjakka, Finland 2019. The art residence and the project have been made possible by TaikaBox and the local Ervastinkylä village association with the support of the Northern Ostrobothnia Cultural Foundation and the City of Oulu.