Paintings – Tuomas Helin

An art exhibition showcasing the work of the Pori-based artist Tuomas Helin will open at Poriginal Gallery on January 26, 2002. The exhibition presents Helin’s paintings from the 1990s onwards. The works are created using various techniques, including drawings made with charcoal and ink. The primary technique in the paintings is resin-oil paint, though watercolor works are also included.

I am not an “original Pori resident” – I was thrust into the world from a “Tampere-style” grill. To give the semi-finished product the right “northern” flavor, my art education comes from northern Finland, from Kuusamo and Tornio.

I have lived in various towns in Satakunta since 1994. As someone who came from elsewhere, what amazes me is how Satakuntaness is discussed in local media as some grand narrative of “us versus them.” When every event is seen as part of Satakuntaness, all progress and shortcomings can be draped in the mythical Satakunta cloak: “I twisted my ankle on an un-salted street because here in Satakunta, we don’t know how to salt the roads. It’s the fault of the Kokemäenjoki River since everything freezes in the winter. Europe doesn’t succeed like this. It’s best just to bite the bullet. Traditions remain in Satakunta.” Etc. In this sense, I am not a Satakunta painter; I do not work to create a Satakunta identity for anyone or anything. To me, it’s just a story, like “Tamperean-ness,” famously promoted by a man from Nakkila (sic!), S. Frangen.

Which came first, the egg or the word “egg”? The word or the image? We live in a world filled with words. I have watched with joy and wonder as my almost six-year-old son Olli has learned to read and expand his vocabulary. But it’s not just about words. Words are bound to meanings, the collective influence of many things – and values! In a book by William Golding, whose title I can no longer recall, he described the process of the Neanderthal human in which words were formed as explanations for images, and particularly for mental images. A key phrase was: “I have an image…” by which the primitive human tried to turn what they saw into words. Perhaps it is pointless to debate whether images or words came first – the first thing is perception. After that come the words, the sentences – a complete flow of meanings forms.

This text was created with AI assistance