Works
The Divine Puppeteer
The Divine Puppeteer (2025)
Creative Direction: Keiken Collaboration with footballer: Ella Toone Mask + Install design: Hana Omori (Keiken) Script, Sound composition + Editing: Isabel Ramos (Keiken) Voice over: Ella Toone Mask fabrication: Chris Fitzpatrick Sound supervision + mixing: Slow Moon Install design support: Sebastian Kite Trigger sensor setup: Oliver Kibblewhite Production + studio management support: Hekate studios + Harry Silverlocke MIF Team: Producer: Holly Shuttleworth Curator: Josh Willdig, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Juan Mata Technical Production: Andy Downie Assistant curator: Caterina Avataneo Co-curated by Juan Mata, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Josh Willdigg. Commissioned by Factory International, TO Live and ARTRA. Common Goal is a partner for Football City, Art United. Produced by Factory International.
Fiberglass, LED Lights, Binaural Sound (WAV), Headphones, Wood
Manchester International Festival, Factory International, Manchester, UK (2025)
11 minutes. Mask: 63W x98Hcm x 50Dcm
Factory International,TO Live and ARTRA
Michael Pollard / Hana Omori (Keiken)
About
The Divine Puppeteer is an immersive sculptural sound installation that began by exploring Ella Toone’s life on and off the pitch. The work registers Toone’s reflections on fate, connection, routine, and the importance of introspection during transitions. At the heart of this intimate installation is a large-scale, hanging mask, inspired by Toone’s spirit animal, the Shetland pony. A touching coincidence connects this symbol to one of her father’s favourite songs: Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond, originally inspired by Jackie Kennedy’s pet Shetland pony, Macaroni. Toone’s father passed away earlier this year, and his memory, as well as the experience of mourning, are gently woven into the work. The song, softly hummed within the soundscape, becomes an emotional thread: a tribute, a memory, a life guide, and a divine bond that endures beyond loss. Visitors are invited to step onto a podium and wear the fiberglass mask, entering Toone’s world through an emotive binaural sound journey. This immersive sound experience invites the listener into her inner world while revealing Keiken’s ongoing interest in experiential shifts and transformation through spatial immersion and sound.
Concept
More than a portrait, The Divine Puppeteer reveals football as a web of interconnections – personal, societal, and spiritual – offering a new way of understanding it as an emotional and collective experience. This resonates deeply with one of Keiken’s core worldbuilding theories: the Invisible Thread – the idea that life is interwoven with hidden forces that, when followed, pull us toward unseen paths. By attuning ourselves to these threads, we may begin to uncover the interconnectedness between destiny, intuition, and personal agency.
Details
The Divine Puppeteer (2025)
Creative Direction: Keiken Collaboration with footballer: Ella Toone Mask + Install design: Hana Omori (Keiken) Script, Sound composition + Editing: Isabel Ramos (Keiken) Voice over: Ella Toone Mask fabrication: Chris Fitzpatrick Sound supervision + mixing: Slow Moon Install design support: Sebastian Kite Trigger sensor setup: Oliver Kibblewhite Production + studio management support: Hekate studios + Harry Silverlocke MIF Team: Producer: Holly Shuttleworth Curator: Josh Willdig, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Juan Mata Technical Production: Andy Downie Assistant curator: Caterina Avataneo Co-curated by Juan Mata, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Josh Willdigg. Commissioned by Factory International, TO Live and ARTRA. Common Goal is a partner for Football City, Art United. Produced by Factory International.
Fiberglass, LED Lights, Binaural Sound (WAV), Headphones, Wood
Manchester International Festival, Factory International, Manchester, UK (2025)
11 minutes. Mask: 63W x98Hcm x 50Dcm
Physical, Interactive
Factory International,TO Live and ARTRA
Michael Pollard / Hana Omori (Keiken)