THE RAT SHOP – nothing bought butnothingness sold – Johanna Lonka
THE RAT SHOP offers the nostalgia of souvenir stalls, the honor pennant of wood fields, and rustic birch bark cousins that can be found near rodent trash shelters and the VHS curtain section. As an opening offer, free admission throughout the exhibition! Art souvenirs can be purchased at The Rat Shop.
Hiding behind the shop counter is Johanna Lonka, a visual artist from Tampere who utilizes natural materials, the surplus of consumer culture, and the role of the human animal as a researcher, admirer, or manager of other species in her works.
The exhibition presentation and artist meeting will be held during the last week of opening. THE RAT SHOP is the 5th part of the Rottaatioita project. The exhibition also marks the transition to the next species surveys. At Poriginal, the group is joined by newly born shrews, which are not rodents at all but relatives of moles.
The exhibition series, completed between 2016 – 2021, examines the similarities between humans and rats, their shared history, and coexistence in different environments. THE RAT BAR, more familiarly known as Rottabaari, was exhibited in Tampere in 2020 and THE RAT BAND in Helsinki in 2019. The works are based on both irrational and experience-based fear of rats and an ethical relationship with a species perceived as problematic or contradictory.
ABOUT RATS AND HUMANS
“Humans have been carrying rats around the world for hundreds of years. As a species characterized by neophobic behavior and an omnivorous diet, the rat has caused significant upheavals in ecologically sensitive areas. Introducing cats to control rats can multiply the disaster for many bird species and small mammals, but birds of prey benefit from rats as part of the food chain. In these numerous human experiments, or attempts to fix them, not all species fare well; although locally, populations can be saved through conservation programs.
Rats, like other animal and plant species, survive best where nutrients are abundant. The more free living space shrinks, the more symbiotic species that benefit from humans approach human habitats. As do those species that have no other options. There are speculations about whether the rat will be one of the last mammal species to survive on Earth. Will the rat evolve to a giant size or adapt other new characteristics?
The close coexistence of rats and humans highlights the similarities between these two mammal species – both are adaptable, clever, omnivorous, and opportunistic. Both learn to circumvent obstacles and persistently clear their way; practically through anything and by any means. Both can attack an opponent when threatened and create mass movements, hierarchical societies, and networked communities; which also develop a susceptibility to epidemics.
Rats are particularly visible as a result of construction projects; rodents are forced to seek new areas when their neighborhoods are renovated. Even in the urban ecosystem, there is always food available from the sewer network to trash shelters.
Regardless of which other species community or what kind of human-produced culture is desired in the yard or center; life remains nuanced, contradictory, chaotic, rugged, wonderful, noisy, beautiful, frightening, and often beyond understanding.”
Rottaatioita 2016-21 continues through documentation, publication, or occasional later presentations. Thanks to everyone who participated in the project and donated material for the works. Thanks to TAIKE for the support in the pandemic-stricken cultural situation, without the corona support this exhibition would not have been realized. In 2020, the Rottaatioita exhibitions were supported by SKR Pirkanmaa and the City of Tampere.
Johanna Lonka
works with sculpture installation, drawing, and sound. In her works, she addresses the transformation of living beings, places, or concepts and the role of humans as their transformers. Influences for her works include the relationship between anthropocentric and ecocentric views of nature, as well as publications related to environmental sciences. Lonka’s working process is characterized by inspiration and experimentation sparked by found materials. One of the earliest series of animal-themed works assembled by sewing was The Unsuitable from 2004-2005, after which the herds have continued their own lawless evolution.
Translated with Copilot