Teo Ala-Ruona is an interdisciplinary artist based in Helsinki, working within the expanded field of performance. His practice seeks a deep somatic transformation through which to shift the attunement of human corporeality, navigating the intersections of linguistic, somatic, and social existence. His work emerges from the experience of trans embodiment, from which he aims to broaden our understanding of what a body can be. Ala-Ruona approaches the exploration of trans embodiment as an autopsy of society’s broader conception of the body.
By using the performing body as a site for speculation, he experiments with how alternative stage politics can transform the perceptual experience of both performer and audience. Deeply rooted in theory and embodied scores, his practice considers the performer as both a reflective surface and an active agent in negotiating pregiven categories.
Ala-Ruona is dedicated to the transgressive potential of performance art to expand and challenge our conventional notions of bodily limits and normalcy. His work delights in the peculiar, the perplexing, and the impure, weaving carefully crafted audience engagement with deep performer’s practice. It balances emotional and psychological tension with moments of humor and tenderness.
Ala-Ruona’s work has recently been shown in The Biennale Architettura 2025 (Venice), Performa Biennial (New York), Fundació Joan Miró Museum (Barcelona), The Vilnius Biennial of Performance Art (Vilnius), The Finnish National Gallery Kiasma (Helsinki), The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London (London), Sequences festival (Reykjavik), Centrale Fies (Dro) and Toaster/Husets Teater (Copenhagen). Ala-Ruona has graduated from Master’s Programme in Art Education at Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2016 and from Master’s Programme in Ecology and Contemporary Performance, at Helsinki Theatre Academy in 2018.
Teo Ala-Ruona. Photo: Miikka Pirinen.