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 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.
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.
