Chenebier and a well earned rest

Moving on

 So the exhibition is up and running. Thank goodness, i am exhausted!

There is so much i wish i would still have had time to do, so much i wish i would have been able to portray. I feel like working at the gallery as well as making an exhibition in it clouded my view of the space and if i could start again i would organize the layout in an almost opposite order to what it is now. There is a definite upside to viewing a space through clear objective eyes.

I can't say that i am disappointed, but neither am i fully happy with it either: the work or my own energy to make it. I feel tired and like this project has now come to its inevitable end. I feel like looking at things through new enlightened angles, making work about new subjects. Subjects that are much lighter and brighter something that will balance this sorrow i feel.

I also feel like some introspection is in order and figuring out what to do and what to explore next is still floating at the periphery of my mind. It needs time, i need time. I want more time! In this spirit i have decided that in 2013 i will not be making any big solo exhibitions.

I am also conflicted about if i should say that this is my exhibition when people come in while i'm working. I am not easily recognized in any of the work so it is easy to pretend it is not me. I am hoping to get some honest feed back this way but it also feels a bit crooked in my mind.

Yesterday was my first day working and invigilating the exhibition, it is quite quiet with all the holidays and i hope that this work will get people in to view it and possibly get some coverage through the media. It feels very odd. That much i can say for sure but at least there have been people.

The opening was lovely of what i remember through my sleep deprived haze. By the time the exhibition opened i had had a total of 3 hours of sleep in about 50 hours so i felt quite delirious. Many friends and relatives came which was a delight and the general ambiance was good. I also received some incredible flowers, cards, chocolates and wine.

What i have learned from this experience is that next time i will make sure to better factor in the set-up time allowances. 

Posters and printers

There is nothing quite like having a Printers you can trust and who can deliver quality work at a reasonable cost and on short notice. So here it is the poster for the upcoming exhibition. I ended up photoshopping two images to reflect the mood of the exhibition as I wont be able to photograph the final piece until it is actually set up in the space. For all their hard work I would like to thank Juris and all the team at Printmix and the brilliant Mr. ThierryFrançois for putting image and text together in such a pleasing way.

The work is coming together and even though it still gives me heart palpitations just to think about getting it all done, I am no longer feeling helpless and hopeless.

Last before winter

I've been at the summer house for the final time this year. I needed time to consider the exhibition at Jangva in depth without any distractions and to make some new work. The weather has turned towards winter and last night as I was taking some pictures of the night skies, i could hear the grass crunch under my feet.

The stop motion animation of the night skies, i was intending to make in to a planetarium for the exhibition, has not worked out. The reasons are twofold: The first being the quality of my camera, which is not on its own good enough to capture all that i had hoped for. The second being my fears of the wild. After having heard wolves howling the past few nights i was on guard and tonight while photographing i could hear the howls, then steps and then the breath of the creature. As much as I was humbled by the experience, my nerves were shot and my fear of the gleaming eyes surrounding me gave cause to admit defeat. I would like to say I had more courage, but it would have been a fools courage. Apparently there are limits to what i will do for art. I would like to make this animation a reality one day and i hope to borrow a telescope that connects to my camera: go out and take the images during the dark winter nights preferably with a few friends to keep me company.

I have however had some success during the days, taking photographs and making more stop motion animations of the skies. There has been cloud cover throughout my stay, which only lifted on saturday to give new color to the sleepy landscape. I am particularly happy with my photographs of the river, which glower and glow with a passionate palate.

The funny thing is that I am not at all certain if any of the work i have made this visit will be in the exhibition, but in creating it i have had the chance to ponder what i want this exhibition to be. The previously described colours in my photographs are the mood i wish to create. The ever moving skies and clouds remind me of the fast paced life i want to contrast with the more mythical aspects of my work. Soundscapes of the cold of winter contradicted by the warmth of a sauna, the wind sounding like a crowd at a railway station. These thoughts keep me occupied, as does the immense amount of editing i have ahead of me.

I do not feel calm about the exhibition. I am not even sure I feel hopeful. All I know is that I have to figure out which image I will use for the press release, the invites and the posters. These few days were meant to supply it, but I am still at a loss. I might end up using “the wake” even though i've been told by the gallery that the image is so disturbing that it will not be published by the newspapers. I know it is a strong image and i know it has impact, though i personally don't see the menace others have alluded to. I still have a few days to ponder this conundrum before i have to send things off to print. As for the press images they must be sent off on monday. Perhaps this train ride will give me the answers. It is impossible for me to create an image of the installation and the sound, so no matter what the final choice it will be slightly misleading. I wonder about the ethics of using an image that will not be featured in the show.

I still have a long way to go to get this show on the metaphorical road. I know more or less what the main gallery space will have and what the studio space will hold – the small area between is still a mystery.

During the upcoming week I want to sort out all the images and video from this trip. I will also decide where i am getting the materials for the installation, as well as when and how they will be delivered and see how big of a dent it will make on my finances. So far I am doing ok on that front with the exhibition rent already paid leaving the rest of my money to go towards the work itself. Some people go on holiday to Greece, I it seems buy materials to create a work which in most probability will never sell.

NEW PRESS RELEASE

Ok so underneath are the press releases for my exhibition at Jangva, one in finnish the other in english.

The image underneath is from the trip Thierry and I took to Lapland this summer. The image was taken in Norway and has nothing to do with the upcoming exhibition as such, but I think it does hold some of the same mystery and themes as i am exploring at the moment.

ENGLISH

ANNA PUHAKKA
Yes, I Know Your Birth
Installation, video, photography
13.12. – 7.01.2013

Preview: Wednesday December 12^th 2012 18:00 – 20:00

Anna Puhakka's Yes, I Know your Birth exhibition, at Gallery Jangva this December, is the culmination of two years of work for Puhakka and a followup to her July exhibition From Karelia Now and Before¹.

The questions “Who am I?” and “Where are we headed?” are core themes in Anna Puhakka's exhibition Yes, I Know Your Birth. Through this exhibition Puhakka recreates her prehistory balancing it with reflections on the cosmopolitan condition, treating her existential crisis as a person who has never properly belonged anywhere. In her art she returns to her ancestral roots and uses them to ponder her role in the modern world.

Over the past two years Puhakka has been researching ancient Karelian folklore and creating ways to explore its existence in today’s society through rituals, stories, music and customs; bringing it to the present day through the use of media and installation art. She has a multidisciplinary approach to making work and her artistic practice incorporates an array of mediums such as installation, photography, sound, performance, video and text.

During the course of this project Puhakka has created sound installations, video works, numerous performative and photographic images, countless texts and a collaborative art project with photographer Eva-Liisa Orupöld “Won't Carry Alone For Fun”². Her artwork “Birth Words” was introduced at a conference in Portugal called Borders and Borderland. Today's Challenges, Tomorrow's Prospects as a part of Tuulikki Kurki's presentation Poetry of the Two Karelias. Her sound work “Lament” was featured on the Nowhereisland radio station as part of the Cultural Olympiad project Nowhereisland and two video pieces were shown at the PNEM Sound Art Festival 17/18 of November 2012 in Uden, The Netherlands.

Puhakka (b.1983, Tampere, Finland) has lived over half her life abroad: in the United States, Australia, France and England. She graduated from Sunderland University in 2007 and has been an internationally practicing artist ever since. Puhakka is also the curator and editor-in-chief of the monthly creative art magazine, HESA inprint. Currently Puhakka lives and works in Helsinki.

Anna would like to thank the Finnish Lament Singers (Äänellä Itkijät) for all their support.

Anna Puhakka

puhakka.anna@gmail.com

www.annapuhakka.com

http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com

www.hesainprint.com

1From Karelia Now and Before, 1-31.7.2012, Louhitalo, Eno

2Won't Carry Alone For Fun: collaboration with the Eno school class 7A and Kotiranta retirement home, part of the exhibition From Karelia Now and Before.

FINNISH

ANNA PUHAKKA

Kyllä, tunnen syntymäsi

Installaatio, video, valokuvia

13.12. – 7.01.2013

Avajaiset keskiviikkona 12.12.2012 18:00–20.00

Anna Puhakan Kyllä, tunnen syntymäsi -näyttely Galleria Jangvassa tämän vuoden joulukuussa on kahden vuoden työn huipentuma ja seuraus viime heinäkuun näyttelylle Karjalasta nyt ja ennen.¹

Kuka minä olen? ja Mihin olemme matkalla? ovat pääaiheita, joihin Kyllä, tunnen syntymäsi -näyttely pyrkii vastaamaan. Tämän näyttelyn avulla Puhakka luo uudelleen oman esihistoriansa ja tasapainottaa sen ottamalla kantaa kosmopoliittiseen tilaan, sekä kommentoi samalla omaa eksistentiaalista kriisiään henkilönä, joka ei koskaan ole kunnolla kuulunut mihinkään. Taiteessaan Puhakka palaa esi-isiensä juurille ja käyttää niitä miettiessään rooliaan nykymaailmassa.

Kahden viime vuoden ajan Puhakka on tutkinut vanhaa karjalaista kansanperinnettä ja luonut keinoja tutkia sen olemassaoloa nyky-yhteiskunnassa rituaalien, tarinoiden, musiikin ja tapojen avulla; hän tuo sen nykypäivään käyttäen installaatio- ja mediataidetta. Puhakalla on poikkitaiteellinen lähestymistapa työhönsä ja hänen työnsä sisältää laajasti eri taiteen lajeja, kuten installaatiota, valokuvia, ääntä, performanssia, videota ja tekstiä.

Tämän projektin aikana Puhakka on luonut ääni-installaatioita, videoteoksia, useita performatiivisia valokuvia, lukemattomia tekstejä sekä Ei huvikseen kantele yksin -taideprojektin² yhteistyössä valokuvaaja Eva-Liisa Orupöldin kanssa. Hänen taiteellinen työnsä, ”Syntysanat”, esiteltiin Portugalin Borders and Borderland: Today’s Challenges, Tomorrow’s Prospects -konferenssissa osana Tuulikki Kurjen presentaatiota, jonka nimi oli Kahden Karjalan runous. Hänen äänityönsä ”Itkuvirsi ukille” kuultiin Nowhereisland -radiokanavalla osana Kulttuuriolympialaisten projekti Nowhereislandia, ja kaksi videotyötä esitetään PNEM Sound Art Festivaalilla 17.–18. marraskuuta 2012 Hollannin Udenissa.

Puhakka (s.1983, Tampere, Suomi) on elänyt puolet elämästään ulkomailla: Yhdysvalloissa, Australiassa, Ranskassa ja Englannissa. Hän valmistui Sunderlandin yliopistosta vuonna 2007 ja on toiminut kansainvälisenä taiteilijana siitä lähtien. Puhakka myös kuratoi ja toimii kuukausittain ilmestyvän luovan taidelehden, HESA inprintin päätoimittajana. Nykyään Puhakka asuu ja työskentelee Helsingissä.

Anna haluaa kiittää Äänellä Itkijöitä heidän tuestaan.

Anna Puhakka

puhakka.anna@gmail.com

www.annapuhakka.com

http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com

www.hesainprint.com

1 Karjalasta Nyt ja Ennen, 1-31.7.2012, Louhitalo, Eno

2 Ei huvikseen kantele yksin: Yhteistyössä Enon koulun 7A-luokan ja Palvelutalo Kotirannan kanssa, osana Karjalasta Nyt ja Ennen -näyttelyä.

Recap of what has happened and what is yet to come

So it begins again, that allusive game of cat and mouse to find an idea i can feel looming at the back of my mind, somewhere in my subconscious. I can feel it clawing its way towards the surface – it is time, it will come. The fear that the idea will not surface in time is always there, a dreadful silence, yet I can hear the calling like a dare. I love this, it is like trying to solve a puzzle that i have already solved but lost.

There is exactly 11 weeks and one day until my exhibition Yes, I Know Your Birth opens at Gallery Jangva on December 12^th 2012. This exhibition will be the culmination of two years of work, in which I have been actively researching ancient Karelian folklore and creating new ways to explore its existence in todays society through rituals, stories, music and customs.

Throughout this project I have used forms of media art to explore new ways of creating art. I have learned new skills like soldering and creating a 14:2 surround sound system. Both which are very useful skills and both of which were taught to me by the fabulous Thierry Francois aka COLYMBA who has also designed my website, logo and countless other things throughout the years.

During the course of this project I have created several sound installations, about 7 video works, numerous performative and photographic imagery, countless texts and a collaborative art project with Eva-LiisaOrupöld: Won't Carry Alone For Fun made with the Eno school class 7A and Kotiranta retirement home, which was shown as a part of my June Exhibition From Karelia Now and Before in Eastern Finland.

My artwork “Birth Words” was also introduced at a conference in Portugal called Borders and Borderland. Today’sChallenges, Tomorrow’s Prospects. as a part of Tuulikki Kurki's presentation Poetryof the Two Karelias. My sound artwork “Lament” was featured on the Nowhereisland radio station, part of the Cultural Olympiad project Nowhereisland. My art has been included in both Art Fair Suomi 2012 and The Manchester Contemporary 2012 art fair. Also I am happy to announce that PAPER, a Manchester based gallery, which represents me sell some of my prints and postcards. There are also a few of my video pieces being shown at the PNEMSound Art Festival 17/18 of November in Uden, The Netherlands. 

It has been a very exciting ride so far and there are still more ideas, which have yet to be made a reality. I am currently finalizing the press release for the exhibition at Jangva and planning the actual outlook of the exhibition as well. I want to go to the summer house again next month and create a new work, which will hopefully end up being the video for a small planetarium that will be built within the gallery. So much to do – So much i can't wait to do.

Some new work and a few thought on old work

I alway find it a challenge to talk coherently about current work, work in progress and even older work. It is possibly because they are so close to me and often instinctual in their messages and creation. In this post I want to talk about the my current exhibition From Karelia Now and Before.

Balancing Tango from Anna Puhakka on

The exhibition finishes this coming tuesday, I am happy i came to invigilate the last few days as it has given me a chance to be in direct contact with the viewers. Able to answer questions and to hear their stories. In many cases hear their own personal views and feelings about being a Karelian. I have experience a closeness and openness with these people that is truly refreshing after many jaded years of wondering why am i doing what i do and if it is important. Today i have received 3 hugs from exhibition viewers i have never met before. They have thanked me for their experience, given me a feeling of purpose. I feel truly grateful to them for this. Yesterday I was asked to take part in a viewers research on Karelians from both sides of the border Writing Cultures and Traditions at Borders to give it a current visual context. She is coming tomorrow to interview me and discuss the visual representations of “my Karelia”. I will write more on this after the event. This is the link to her work research website http://www.uef.fi/wctb.

The Angelus from Anna Puhakka on Vimeo.
The exhibition has been well received i have had four positive reviews. In a way i feel as though i am already moving towards the next thing and am having a hard time being excited about this ending show and the works in it. They have already changed in to the past for me and I itch to get started on the next thing. 

Video Edit from Anna Puhakka on Vimeo.

The videos in this post are new works. They are small performative video pieces the first two have been made at the summer house and using the same props. In them I was looking at the relationship between nature and prayer. The third video is a bit of a mad moment work where I am looking at the way women are portrayed in films and other media, this short video plays with notion of serious content versus the tabloid. It is both funny and sad with the eerily sung "i edited the video" trying to give its subject some control of the situation.

Taster images from the exhibition

The English Press Release - Finally!

Louhitalo

Heintie 16

81200 Eno

Mon–sun 12–17

tel. +3584578450340

louhitalo@gmail.com

www.louhitalo.fi

ANNA PUHAKKA

From Karelia Now and Before

Photographs and sound installation

1.–31.7.2012

Exhibition opening Saturday, April 30th 2012, 2 pm – 4 pm

The questions Who am I? and Where do I come from? are the main themes in Anna Puhakka's exhibition From Karelia Now and Before. In this exhibition Puhakka is exploring her relationship with and obsession towards her ancestors’ homeland Karelia. As a cosmopolitan artist, who has lived over half her life abroad, Puhakka returns to her ancestral roots through her art; to the world where she learned to swim, to know the secrets of the forest and to believe in the power of spells, words and nature.

Through the exhibition Puhakka recreates her prehistory, treating her existential crisis as a person who has never properly belonged anywhere. In her work Puhakka becomes a high-priestess who controls the Birth Words of souls, grows a forest and speaks with the voices of the ancients. By combining traditional Karelian folklore and moulding it into a new imaginary world, Puhakka whispers in and answers to the wind with the questions: Who am I? Where do I come from?

The From Karelia Now and Before exhibition is part of a larger research project Yes, I know your Birth, where Puhakka researches ancient Karelian folklore and creates varied ways to explore its existence in today’s society through rituals, stories, music and customs; bringing it to the present day through the use of media art.

Part of the exhibition consists of a collaborative artwork made with local residents. In this project the participants interpret what being a modern Karelian means to them through writing and photography. Project collaborators are the Eno School class 7A and the residents of the Kotiranta retirement home. The project has been led by Anna Puhakka and Eva-Liisa Orupöld.

Puhakka (b.1983, Tampere) has lived in Finland, the United States, Australia, France and England. She graduated from Sunderland University in 2007 and has been an internationally practicing artist ever since. Puhakka is also the curator and editor-in-chief of the monthly creative art magazine, HESA inprint. Currently Puhakka lives and works in Helsinki.

Anna would like to thank the Äänellä Itkijät association for all their support.

Anna Puhakka

+358 (0) 40 542 9934

puhakka.anna@gmail.com

www.annapuhakka.com

http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com

www.hesainprint.com

WON'T CARRY ALONE FOR FUN

Instructors: Anna Puhakka and Eva-Liisa Orupõld

Participants: Eno school class 7A and Kotiranta retirement home

Won't Carry Alone for Fun is a collaborative artwork that is part of the exhibition From Karelia Now and Before being held at Louhitalo in July 2012. The purpose of the project was to create an artwork where, through the use of text and photography, the locals could explore identity, the meaning of objects and what it is to be a modern Karelian. During the project the participants were asked to complete a task where they chose objects that are important to them and described them creatively.

The participants then brought their objects and texts along to a one-day workshop held in Eno on the 24^th of May 2012. During the workshops the objects were exchanged, then in groups the participants thought of possible connections the objects had to each other; stories were told. Then the participants shared their memories of the objects and chose a word that could connect them, something which described their similarities.

After this their chosen connector-words were visually interpreted by photographing both the objects and participants. The content of the work Won't Carry Alone for Fun has been compiled from the photographs and texts made by the participants. During the workshop the participants learned to work with people of different ages and got to know each other.

The hanging and compiling of the artwork was done by the workshop leaders Eva-Liisa Orupöld and Anna Puhakka.

The artwork and exhibition opening takes place on Saturday the 30th of June from 2 pm to 4 pm at Louhitalo, Heintie 16, 81200 Eno, Louhioja.

The exhibition is open 1.-31.7.2012 , from Monday to Sunday between 12 pm and 5 pm.

Contact details for the workshop leaders:

Anna Puhakka

+358 (0) 40 542 9934

puhakka.anna@gmail.com

www.annapuhakka.com

http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com

www.hesainprint.com

Eva-Liisa Orupöld

+358 (0) 44 333 5806

orupold@gmail.com

http://orupold.blogspot.com

Getting ready for the sound installation

getting cables ready for connecting

300 meters of cable

one of 15 stereos 

making sound..amazing

connectors and jacks

Press Release in Finnish for exhibition

Louhitalo

Heintie 16

81200 Eno

ma–su 12–17

puh. +3584578450340

louhitalo@gmail.com

www.louhitalo.fi

ANNA PUHAKKA

Karjalasta nyt ja ennen

Valokuvia, ääni-installaatio

1–31.7.2012

Avajaiset lauantaina 30.6.2012 14.00-16.00

Kysymykset kuka olen ja mistä tulen ovat Anna Puhakan “Karjalasta nyt ja ennen” -näyttelyn pääaiheina. Näyttelyssä Puhakka tutkii omaa suhdettaan ja pakkomiellettään kohti esi-isiensä kotipaikkaa, Karjalaa. Nykyaikaisena maailmankansalaisena, joka on asunut yli puolet elämästään ulkomailla, Puhakka palaa töissään sukunsa juurille Karjalaan, maailmaan, jossa hän on oppi uimaan, tuntemaan metsän salat ja uskomaan loitsun, sanan ja luonnon voimaan.

Näyttelyn kautta Puhakka luo esihistoriansa uudelleen, korjaillen omaa eksistentiaalista kriisiään ihmisenä, joka ei ole koskaan kuulunut kunnolla mihinkään. Teoksissaan Puhakka muuntautuu ylipapittareksi, joka hallitsee sielujen syntysanoja, kasvattaa metsän ja puhuu muinaisten äänillä. Kietoen ja muovaillen perinteisen karjalaisen kansanuskon uuteen kuvitteelliseen maailmaan, Puhakka kuiskaa ja vastaa tuuleen kysymyksillä: Kuka olen? Mistä tulen?

“Karjalasta nyt ja ennen” -näyttely on osa Anna Puhakan suurempaa tutkimustyötä nimeltään Kyllä Tunnen Syntymäsi, jossa hän tutkii muinaista karjalaista kansanuskoa ja kehittää erilaisia tapoja ja menetelmiä tutkia sen näkyvyyttä nykypäivässä: rituaaleina, tarinoina, musiikkina ja perinteenä, tuoden sen nykypäivään mediataiteen avulla.

Osana näyttelyä on myös paikallisten kanssa toteutettu taideteos Ei huvikseen kantele yksin, jossa he tulkitsevat valokuvan ja kirjoituksen kautta nykykarjalaisuuttaan. Projektissa ovat olleet mukana Enon koulun 7A luokan oppilaat sekä Palvelutalo Kotirannan asukkaita. Ohjaajina ovat toimineet Anna Puhakka ja Eva-Liisa Orupõld.

Puhakka (s.1983 Tampere) on elämänsä aikana asunut Suomessa, Yhdysvalloissa, Australiassa, Ranskassa ja Englannissa. Hän valmistui Sunderlandin Ylipistosta 2007 ja on työskennellyt siitä lähtien taiteilijana kansainvälisesti. Puhakka on myös kuukausittain ilmestyvän HESA inprint luovan taidelehden päätoimittaja ja kurattori. Tällä hetkellä Puhakka asuu ja työskentelee Helsingissä.

Kiitokset Äänellä Itkijät ry:lle.

Anna Puhakka

+358405429934

puhakka.anna@gmail.com

www.annapuhakka.com

http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com

www.hesainprint.com

EI HUVIKSEEN KANTELE YKSIN

Ohjaajat: Anna Puhakka ja Eva-Liisa Orupõld

Osallistujat: Enon koulu 7A luokka ja Palvelutalo Kotiranta

Ei huvikseen kantele yksin on osa heinäkuussa Louhitalossa avautuvaa näyttelyä, Karjalasta nyt ja ennen. Sen tarkoituksena on ollut luoda taideteos, jossa paikalliset ovat tulkinneet valokuvan ja kirjoituksen kautta nykykarjalaisuuttaan, identiteettiä ja tavaroiden merkitystä. Projektin aikana osallistujia pyydettiin ennakkotehtävässä esittelemään esineitä, jotka ovat heille tärkeitä ja kuvailemaan näitä luovasti.

Työpajaan osallistujat toivat mukanaan ennakkotehtävänsä ja niissä käyttämänsä esineet. Esineet vaihtoivat tilapäisesti omistajia ja ryhmissä pohdittiin yhtäläisyyksiä sekä kerrottiin tarinoita. Osallistujat jakoivat muistojaan esineistä ja valitsivat sanoja yhdistäessään esineitä toisiinsa, jotka kuvailevat niiden yhtäläisyyksiä.

Tämän jälkeen osallistujista ja esineistä otettiin valokuvia, joissa tulkittiin niihin liittyviä tekstejä visuaalisesti. Kirjoituksista, valokuvista ja työpajan aikana tehdyistä piirroksista on koottu taideteoksen Ei huvikseen kanna yksin sisältö. Työpajan aikana osallistujat tutustuivat eri sukupolviin ja oppivat tuntemaan toisiaan.

Teoksen kokoamisen ja ripustamisen ovat hoitaneet ohjaajat Eva-Liisa Orupöld ja Anna Puhakka.

Teoksen ja näyttelyn avajaiset ovat lauantaina 30.6.2012 klo 14.00–16.00 Louhitalossa, Heintie 16, 81200 Eno, Louhioja

Näyttely on avoinna 1-31.7.2012 ma-su 12-17

Ohjaajien yhteystiedot:

Anna Puhakka

+358 (0) 40 542 9934

puhakka.anna@gmail.com

www.annapuhakka.com

http://believeinprocess.blogspot.com

www.hesainprint.com

Eva-Liisa Orupöld

+358 (0) 44 333 5806

orupold@gmail.com

http://orupold.blogspot.com