EXHIBITIONIST – Mirja Kurri

The living body is constantly changing, yet permanent. Every word and touch can leave its mark. Evil causes the body to grow armor, while good peels it away. In this exhibition, I reveal my body for others to see.

I work with a technique I have developed, where I paint with fire on steel plates. By welding, I draw outlines, by grinding, I create light, and by heating with flames, I bring out the iron’s own hues, painting the final shapes and shadows onto the works. In my latest pieces, rust has also eaten through the metal. Sometimes it can be wiped away, but more often than not, it reveals scars beneath.

“Exhibitionist” is a play of light and shadow, where the gallery’s bright lights bring to life the softness of the body against the hard, cold steel. I encourage the viewer to examine my works as sculptures and to move around them.

This exhibition has been supported by the Pirkanmaa Fund of the Arts Promotion Centre.
Mirja Kurri (b. 1983) is a visual artist from Tampere. She graduated as a visual artist from Tampere University of Applied Sciences in 2014.

Kurri’s previous education is in design. She works slowly, meditating and carefully planning, and finally executing in a frantic last-minute controlled chaos. This is Kurri’s first solo exhibition in Pori. Her works have previously been shown at Galleria Rajatila in Tampere in the spring of 2019 and at Myymälä2 in Helsinki in 2018.