Zodiak Laboratory is Zodiak's residency concept. In May 2025 the ZodLab residency artist is Riikka Lakea, together with their working group.
During the ZodLab residency, Riikka Lakea and their working group are developing their new piece, Another Hybrid.
Another Hybrid is a solo performance that combines dance, music, video, animal stories and animal-human hybrid characters. This quirky musical, disguised as a nature documentary, celebrates the diversity, strangeness and hybrid bodies of the animal kingdom. The performance centres on an animal-human hybrid that is constantly shapeshifting – swapping their head, growing a tail, or shedding their skin.
Another Hybrid invites to marvel at the diversity of nature from a queer perspective. It sheds light on queerness in the animal world through colourfulness and absurdity, expanding the concept of what kinds of bodies and behaviours are considered ‘natural’. Another Hybrid seeks to rewrite the narratives we tell about animal biology, as well as about humans, their genders and their sexuality.
The working process of the piece focuses on developing methods for material creation, emphasising the construction of hybrid collages and the decentralisation of authorship in a solo performance. During the residency, Riikka Lakea and the group are dedicated to creating movement material and music for the work while exploring low-hierarchy structures that support shared authorship.
Riikka Lakea is a Helsinki-based dance artist, filmmaker and producer. They specialise in creating performer-driven and site-specific works, as well as developing low-hierarchy and ecologically and socially sustainable working methods. Key themes in Lakea’s work include dancing to music, queer ecology and animal stories. Their favourite creatures are octopuses, dragons and mermaids.
Another Hybrid
Initiator, script and soloist: Riikka Lakea
Artistic mentors: Pie Kär, Ella Skoikka, Ania Varez
Video and spatial design: Johanna Sulalampi
Costume design: lambdog1066
Earlier residencies: Ehkä-tuotanto / Nykytaidetila Kutomo (Turku)