Porin Saskiat ry, Scholarship Exhibition – Anni Venäläinen and Juuso Leppälä

Anni Venäläinen

HEAD EXPERIENCES – A Poem in Space

The subject of this exhibition is the head. The head, a place where consciousness and knowledge reside. It is a temporary home for knowledge. A person’s personality lives in the head. It holds memories and plans waiting to be realized, intellectual products without a physical form. The knowledge in the head, along with all the accumulated life experiences, ceases to exist when the life of the head ends. The head is a mystery and a world. Ultimately, it is the head that causes the most problems in a person’s life.

What are knowledge and knowing? We live in close connection with our heads, yet we understand them surprisingly little. The same applies to knowledge. Even though every individual retains at least some knowledge in their head, it is very difficult to give precise definitions of knowledge. It seems that the growing number of people and brains does not solve the problems related to the head and knowledge.

Despite this, we strive to pass on our knowledge to others, particularly to younger generations. This way, they can begin collecting their own knowledge on the foundation of general knowledge. The idea is that as knowledge accumulates into larger wholes, it will resolve the problem of knowledge itself. It is harder to admit that mistakes and misunderstandings also accumulate in the process.

I am fascinated not only by the mystery of learning and teaching but also by the ways in which old teaching boards, early scientific illustrations, and medieval paintings of saints’ lives blend knowledge and art together.

I have created a piece in this exhibition space composed of several elements, using simple and minimalist means of expression, primarily pencil and sketch paper. The drawings and texts in the exhibition form a spatial poem that can be read linearly, jumping, selectively, or systematically. The poem is drawn and written in the form of dialogue, inspired by the great heads of antiquity and philosophers.

Juuso Leppälä

In my exhibition, there are two themes: characters from fairy tales presented in new versions, and the complex dual morality related to warfare and weapons. These themes are loosely connected in places. In my works, seriousness and dark humor often merge.

A fairy tale character planted in the present, now somewhat more raw. This character is not the epitome of perfect goodness. They struggle with substance abuse and managing finances. Social situations often cause anxiety. Appearance pressures have also become unnecessarily overwhelming. Luckily, fairy tale characters are already perfectly beautiful… perhaps. And who would notice their beauty anyway? Does the female character find attraction in money or seven different men, or does she lull herself to an eternal sleep with pills?

Childhood toy guns become deadly, real tools of men as they grow older. Bombs, missiles, and fighter jets. The fighter pilot shooting a little off target from high above, with screaming civilian victims below. In a war against Satan, with uniforms, women and men are seduced, gaining the fame of eternal heroes. Perhaps it is simply a morbid fascination with militarism and weapons.

My works include paintings, drawings, small sculptures, graphics, and mixed media.

This text was created with AI assistance