Outside the Comfort Zone and Two Types of Paintings – Johanna Laurila, Janne Vuollet

Both artists graduated from Kankaanpää School of Fine Arts, painting program in the summer of 2009. Currently, both are studying at the Pori University Consortium, Department of Art and Media.

The exhibitions at Poriginal Gallery are part of their master’s thesis in the Visual Culture program at the University of Arts and Design.

Johanna Laurila: The themes of the exhibition focus on deconstructing familiar imagery, highlighting details, and reinterpreting them through new framing and colors. This led me to work with techniques and materials that challenged me to surpass my own boundaries. On several occasions, I found myself outside of my comfort zones. Through the exhibition, I questioned whether it is possible to change familiar ways and learn to appreciate something that goes against my own intuition. The lower level of the gallery features a mixed-media work (acrylic and watercolor pencil on linen canvas) and a video work that also carries the exhibition’s title.

Janne Vuollet: My works are paintings/installations/painting installations. I want to explore the different ways paintings can be displayed. Do paintings change into something else when they are hung or constructed in a special way, and at what point do they become installations? I am interested in the fragmented nature of human perception. The world has become fragmented through various media, delivering information in bite-sized pieces that people must filter into some kind of cohesive whole. The image of world events formed this way can easily differ from person to person. My paintings are also fragmented, made of pieces that break apart, come together, and form expanding wholes. Currently, I am focusing on my final thesis for Taik. In my thesis, I am researching the branding of the artist—how an artist wants to present themselves.

This text was created with AI assistance.