WOVEN – SOFIA SAARI & JOHANNA UUSITALO
WOVEN – SOFIA SAARI & JOHANNA UUSITALO
The exhibition consists of three parts:
- Collaborative photographic works by Saari and Uusitalo titled WOVEN.
- Saari’s stories realized through photography, painting, and sculpture.
- Uusitalo’s installations created with photography, painting, and sculpture.
Sofia Saari, MA (b. 1976, Turku)
Saari’s works address different social hierarchies within society by highlighting situations and setups from three distinct work environments. The selected themes present ways of processing the world from strongly categorized, demanding, and complex starting points.
The details brought to the forefront emphasize interpreting the works specifically through the lens of individuality and personal experience. They challenge the viewer to engage with the world from the perspectives of the characters in the depicted situations, almost as if stepping into their personal worlds.
The photographic works function as visually clear series of images, emphasizing both the power and purity of frozen motion and the stillness and focus of the scenes.
The images are aesthetically beautiful, minimalist, with soft, light tones that emphasize the messages conveyed through expressions and gestures. Thus, the portraiture highlights the individual, mind, and thought, seemingly detached from the highly controlled world (such as taekwondo). The pieces detached from this context form fleeting opportunities to slip into a surreal, dreamlike, beautiful world, just within reach (both in touch and sight).
Johanna Uusitalo (b. 1968, Vanha-Ulvila)
Uusitalo presents various imaginary, reflective worlds through photography, installing them into the gallery space through different materials. The photographs become painterly, enigmatic depictions of landscapes. The chosen materials create reflective surfaces, blending the environment with the subjects of the works.
Mystery and questions about how we perceive our surroundings, the depth of our gaze, and the details of our environment entangle the viewer in endless possibilities for interpretation.
A large-format photograph printed on vinyl depicts a reflection from the back of a truck trailer. The work functions as a sculptural piece, almost as if stretched out like a covering on a wall, protecting something and raising questions. What might the work be imagined to protect in the world of art, in the field of gazes and interpretations? The piece explores the photographic medium’s ability to replicate reality while also reflecting on the boundlessness of both art and the environment.
This text was created with AI assistance