Arctic Hysteria
dal 1/2/2012 al 3/2/2012
Segnalato da
Rosphoto State Russian Center for Photography
Veli Grano
Ilkka Halso
Pekka Jylha
Tellervo Kalleinen
Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen
Reijo Kela
Erkki Kurenniemi
Tea Makipaa
Pink Twins
Petri Sirvio
The Screaming Men
Anni Rapinoja
Jari Silomaki
Mika Taanila
Salla Tykka
Alanna Heiss
Marketta Seppala
1/2/2012
Arctic Hysteria
Rosphoto State Russian Center for Photography, St. Petersburg
Contemporary art from Finland. The exhibition is named after a term used in psychology. Arctic hysteria refers to behavorial models formed under the influence of Arctic climate on the mind. The show embraces artworks that interpret cultural cliches and stereotypes of specific national characteristics. With works of over 15 artists focusing especially on mediums of photo, film, video and sound installation.
Veli Granö, Ilkka Halso, Pekka Jylhä, Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Reijo Kela, Erkki Kurenniemi, Tea Mäkipää, Pink Twins, Petri Sirviö/The Screaming Men, Anni Rapinoja, Jari Silomäki, Mika Taanila, Salla Tykkä
curated by Alanna Heiss (New York) and Marketta Seppälä (Helsinki)
Applying cultural clichés as a catalyst, the exhibition focuses on stereotypes, which has given cultural meaning to the specificities of a given region, Finland. Literally speaking Finland does not belong to the Arctic in a geographic sense, but the Finns are – as are, say, the Russians, the French and the English – believed to have specific national characteristics. A cliché often repeated, when discussing Finnish people, is their supposedly close connection with nature.
In fact, the humanity-nature relationship emerges as a sort of connecting thread throughout Arctic Hysteria, bridging generations and boundaries of genre in Finnish contemporary art. The utopian optimism of the 1960s and 1970s concerning technological progress is confronted with an anxiety about the environment and future in the works of younger artists. This reflects a general change that has happened in the world at large during the last four decades: From the science-fiction utopia of a new era, a space age, we have to get back to Earth and acknowledge a reality in which, after centuries of neglect, we have no choice but to take seriously environmental threats such as the climate change.
Arctic Hysteria is an intriguing review of Finnish contemporary art curated by Alanna Heiss (New York) and Marketta Seppälä (Helsinki). The exhibition is comprised of the works of over 15 contemporary Finnish artists focusing especially on mediums of photo, film, video and sound installation: Veli Granö, Ilkka Halso, Pekka Jylhä, Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Reijo Kela, Erkki Kurenniemi, Tea Mäkipää, Pink Twins, Petri Sirviö/The Screaming Men, Anni Rapinoja, Jari Silomäki, Mika Taanila and Salla Tykkä. Curators: Alanna Heiss (USA) and Marketta Haila (Finland).
The exhibition was originally produced to be shown at MoMA/P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New York in 2008. The show in ROSPHOTO develops further the initial concept of the project and expands with new artworks that have been added to the exhibition recently.
The exhibition is organized in St. Petersburg by State Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSPHOTO and the Artists’ Association of Finland with the support of FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange.
The exhibition is made possible by the Ministry of Education and Culture Finland, Gerda and Salomo Wuorio Foundation, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Finnish Film Foundation, Arts Council of Finland, AVEK (The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture), and Finnish Cultural Institute in St. Petersburg.
Image: Salla Tykkä
Opening: 2 February 2012 at 18:00
State Russian Museum and Exhibition Centre for Photography ROSPHOTO
35 Bolshaya Morskaya , 191186 Saint-Petersburg
Hours: daily 11-19