PAI
PAI 8.6. - 16.9.2018 Kiiski&Sutela Exhibition at Wäinö Aaltonen Museum
HD-video (00:02:30), framed photographs, plastic plants, stones
Many years ago, Pai and his fellow blood parrot cichlid moved from cramped conditions to the museum’s aquarium for the remainder of their lives. Pai has had a bright orange hue, but during the spring its colour has gradually faded. It will not live for much longer.
The blood parrot cichlid is a hybrid species – a man-made creature. It was created in Taiwan in 1986, and it has no binomial nomenclature. The artificial fish has many anatomical deformities. It does not reproduce naturally, because the males are most often infertile. The spine and swim bladder of the fish are deformed. Because it cannot close its beak-shaped mouth, it has difficulties eating. In Asia, bloodparrot cichlids can be turned blue, red, violet or pink by injecting colour in them. When the tail fin is cutoff, the fish becomes heart-shaped.
Pai is shy but curious. Like fish in general, Pai is a social creature. Even though the fish seem expressionless, they communicate through sound and movement, and they use senses that humans do not have, such as lateral-line sense and electroreception. When Pai dies, he will be cremated and his ashes will be scattered in natural waters.