Henna Jula: Centripetal

The belts of the night are reflected in the polypores glistening with moisture. Times change on our retinas, on shells and on the droplets on flower petals, turning the surrounding airspace upside down like countless lenses. The circular motion of the orbit of celestial bodies forms annual rings, the circadian cycle creates swirling shapes. Surface tension, kinetic energy and the pressure of force directed to the center keep matter together for seconds or for thousands of years, until it falls apart and becomes part of something else.

A centripetal force makes a body follow a curved path. It affects the movements of mass, the orbits of the planets and the creation of all living things. The watercolor paintings featured in the exhibition contain modular formations based on natural shapes. The cyclic motion gives them their shape and reflections on the wet surface give them their colors. Paint and the topics of the paintings have in common the states of spreading, mixing and differentiation. Brush strokes expand on the paper into still frames of liquid formations.

Henna Jula (b.1990) is a Helsinki-based artist who graduated from Uniarts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. Her previous solo exhibitions were held at Galleria Huuto, Porvoo Art Hall and tm•gallery. Jula has participated in several joint exhibitions, for example in Taipei and Stockholm and at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki. The exhibition at Poriginal gallery is her eighth solo exhibition. Some of the works were created during residencies at Mustarinda in Hyrynsalmi and at Treasure Hill Artist Village in Taiwan.

The exhibition has been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Finnish Art Society and Paulo Foundation.

www.hennajula.com