CENTRIPETAL – Henna Jula

The belts of the night reflect on damp, glistening caps. Time shifts within retinas, shells, and tiny droplets on flower petals, which, like countless lenses, turn the surrounding airspace upside down. The circular motion of celestial orbits forms annual rings, while the cycle of day creates swirling shapes. Surface tension, kinetic energy, and the pressure of a force pulling toward the center hold matter together for seconds or millennia—until it breaks apart and becomes part of something else.

Centripetal force causes an object to move along a curved path. It influences the motion of mass, planetary orbits, and the formation of all living things. The watercolor paintings in this exhibition feature modular formations inspired by natural shapes. Cyclic movement gives these figures their form, while reflections on wet surfaces provide color. The spreading, blending, and differentiation of pigment mirror the very subjects of the paintings. Brushstrokes swell on paper, frozen in a moment of liquid transformation.

Henna Jula

(b. 1990)
Henna Jula graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki, in 2016 and currently lives and works in Helsinki. Her previous solo exhibitions have been held at Gallery Huuto, Porvoo Art Hall, and tm•gallery. Jula has also participated in group exhibitions in Taipei, Stockholm, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. The exhibition at Poriginal Gallery marks her eighth solo exhibition. Some of the works were created during artist residencies at Mustarinda in Hyrynsalmi, Finland, and Treasure Hill Artist Village in Taiwan.

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