22.08.1985–?
Teemu Keisteri
Since 2008 Teemu Keisteri (born 1985) has made paintings and prints of a fictional character, Ukkeli, “Old Man”, through whom he talks with humour about the Finnish way of life. As Windows95man he DJs in the spirit of the mid-1990s, and he runs his own gallery, Kalleria, in Helsinki. In 2024 he represented Finland at the Eurovision Song Contest with “No Rules!”.
Biography
In the final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö on 11 May 2024, the logo on Windows95man’s T-shirt was hidden by pixelation, because the contest’s rules forbid advertising. The T-shirt with the operating system’s emblem and ripped denim shorts make up his regular stage outfit.
Teemu Keisteri was born on 22 August 1985 in Espoo. He studied photography at the Institute of Design in Lahti and recalls that during his studies he realised he was more a visual artist than a photographer. That decision shaped everything that followed. In 2008 Ukkeli (Finnish for “Old Man”) appeared. Keisteri uses this character in paintings and prints, and also as a design for clothing, postcards and tableware. Through him he treats cultural phenomena and the Finnish way of life with humour, and he often makes himself the subject of the jokes. In 2016 the book “History of Ukkeli” (Khaos Publishing) came out, and that same year Nordic Style Magazine and the broadcaster Yle wrote about him. Ukkeli is also linked to masculinity and Greek statues.
Keisteri is also known as a video artist and a dancer. In Kallio, a district of Helsinki, he has his own gallery, Kalleria; the name plays on the Finnish word “galleria”. He used to host chat programmes on the Finnish TV channel MTV3. He appeared in a music video by the rock band Pariisin Kevät, styled as an old-school video, and he takes part in Peu, a 1980s-style dance band with a dark pop sound.
Windows95man began as a DJ persona. The name comes from Microsoft’s Windows 95 operating system, and his sets lean towards gabber and happy hardcore. The persona became widely known after Flow Festival in 2013: journalists and bloggers took notice, and the electronic musician Evian Christ posted a photograph of Keisteri on social media, which spread across the internet. His home videos became known around the world, he was invited to festivals, and he even played on board a Finnair flight. In 2020 he held themed livestreams with Kulta Katriina, and at Helsinki’s New Year celebration at the turn of 2021 and 2022 he performed at City Hall.
In 2024 Keisteri and the singer Henri Piispanen entered Finland’s national selection, Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu, with the song “No Rules!”. The juries placed them last, but the public vote gave them 313 points overall and first place. At the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö they advanced from the semi-final to the final, where they received 7 points from the juries and 31 from the public, 38 in all, and finished 19th out of 26.
In January 2025 Windows95man toured the United States: New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Profile notes