Riikka Mäntymaa Costume Design

INFO

UOMA (2023-)

Costume design for site-specific dance performance and art video series

Working group:

dance artist Henna-Maria Hanhineva

performance artist Maria Laitila

costume designer Riikka Mäntymaa

Cinematography: Jussi Virkkumaa

Photography: Lassi Karhulahti

Sound artist and percussionist for river Aura: Tatu Rönkkö

Sound artist and composer for Iijoki river: Hilla Väyrynen

Uoma is a series of dance performances exploring the human connection to rivers and the symbolic significance of these waterways. The performances take place along the banks of various rivers in Europe.

Uoma features site-specific dance performances involving two dancers and a costume designer, alongside video artworks filmed by cinematographers during the creative process. The project develops works in two distinct media side by side.

Throughout the creative journey, we engage with the public by building installations on the riverbanks to gather their river-related memories. The stories contributed by passers-by can become artistic material to the working group of Uoma.

So far we have created dance performances in Ounas river, at the Silence residency (2023) run by the artists' organisation Silence and in Aura River, where Uoma was part of the Manifesti Festival (2023). In 2025 and 2026 Uoma visits Iijoki river as part of Art Ii Biennal and Oulu 2026, in collaboration with Art Centre KulttuuriKauppila.