Ei saa HUUTAA / No Shouting Allowed – Anna Aho

The theme of my exhibition is shouting—or rather, refraining from shouting. In our culture, it’s important to behave well. If we see someone shouting, our first reaction is usually to assume they must be either drunk or crazy. Healthy and normal people don’t shout in public. If a child cries on a bus, the mother will receive stern looks—can’t that child be quieted? Shouting is perceived as an unsettling, disruptive noise, and people don’t want to hear it. Yet, inside many people, anger, sorrow, frustration, pain, and other strong emotions might be boiling over, making them want to shout their discomfort into the world. However, few actually do this. Instead, we smile politely and respond, when asked, with “I’m fine.” The figures in my paintings shout this inner scream into the world, silently. I initially considered incorporating sound into the works, but silence serves the theme much better.

It would be good for people to shout from time to time, to release their aggression in a healthy way. This could likely prevent many acts of violence committed while intoxicated. It’s not healthy to let negative emotions build up inside, as they often come out eventually, usually with unpleasant consequences.

The figures in the paintings range in age from a baby to about 60 years old. Frustration, anger, and similar emotions affect people of all ages. A small baby will shout out its discomfort, but adults don’t always understand what’s bothering the child, leading to frustration for both the baby and the parents.

The paintings are acrylic works, painted simply, as if they were made with stencils. The people who served as models for the paintings were allowed to choose what kind of scream they would want to shout.

This text was created with AI assistance.