Mean Time Between Failures is a dance and performance duet of a dance artist and archaeologist Suvi Tuominen and a performance artist and organizer Dash Che. We work with the concepts of labor conditions, economics, corporeal histories and industrial bodies. Our working methods include post-critique, misalignment, messiness, conceptualization and physicality.
“Originally the name ‘mean time between failures’ is taken from the machines’ realm, for example, mechanical or electronic systems. It describes the elapsed time between inherent failures of the systems that can be repaired and depends on the definition of what is considered a failure (Wikipedia).
For our system of the entanglement of two human bodies and a number of non-human bodies MTBF name gestures toward the ongoing presence of fragility and exhaustion. They gently frame our rigor, rage and curiosity as artists and bodies in relation to the political, social, imaginary and corporeal. It is important for us that the system can always be restored. Moreover, we view our duet as an open system that repairs itself by coming in close contact with what impacted its breakage in the first place. Our open system multiplies, drops its organs/parts – the art objects that are left around like spores – and goes through the processes of misalignment and realignment. This informs our artistic work methods and the relationship to each other as artistic collaborators.
We find that it is curious and playful that the word ‘mean’ has so many meanings in English whether in a verb, an adjective, or in a noun form. We relate to the multiplicity of meanings here. While in sciences ‘mean’ means ‘an average’ or ‘a middle way,’ in other realms of language it stands for ‘unkind’ or ‘vicious.’ In the past, ‘mean’ was used when pointing at someone of a low birth or social class. In informal English ‘mean’ can signify ‘a very skillful or effective.’ We rotate and roll through all of these meanings in our collective art practice. Sometimes we choose to be simply mean and angry, other times – average.
Also, we wanted to get the same tattoo with ‘mean time between failures’ formula but we are so busy juggling many part time artistic and non-artistic jobs to survive in the expensive Nordic country, that our schedules haven’t align yet.”
– Mean Time Between Failures