Suvi Sysi, Roma Auskalnyte, Inma Herrera
After Act On
28.1. – 12.2.2017
Galleria Huuto Jätkäsaari – Jätkä 2
INCOMPLETE IS COMPLETE
I often hear artists saying that for them the creation process itself is important and significant. There is no reason to question this. One could assume that the process enabling the creation of an image is the very reason why they continue in their profession, creating images. However, from a viewer’s perspective the process is largely insignificant. When we look at sculptures, paintings or, for example, a video, we are interested in the end result and what it tells us or what it asks us. If the process is hidden in the end result, it will not open up to the viewer and its value as an element enriching the work will only remain important to the artist.
There is also art where the process is the theme of the works. In this case the artist focuses on opening up those psychological and physical paths that lead to the creation of the work. After Act On at Galleria Huuto is a joint exhibition by three artists. Its main idea is to highlight the process leading to the creation of an image and meanings, to make it visible and open. At the same time the exhibition questions the boundary between a complete and incomplete work. The exhibition strongly conveys a message that incomplete is complete.
After Act On is actually a series of installations. The various elements from materials to seemingly complete works are intertwined in a way that makes it difficult and unnecessary to identify individual works. What is essential is what the combination of works tells you. The artists themselves have said that they want to highlight the physical challenges related to the creation process. They ask whether it makes sense to use traditional slow techniques in the era of technology and answer the question through their exhibition. Slowness becomes part of the
content, as does the physical challenge posed by the technique.
Suvi Sysi has printed monochromatic color surfaces. A lot of paper has been used in connection with the printing. Various protective, cleaning and test papers repeat the colors and tell about the different phases. Esthetic trash gets new value as Sysi puts it in the position of an artwork. In another work, prints of the same size have been stacked so that the actual prints cannot be seen, but the sides of the paper pile form an enjoyable surface. Her conceptual works have a strong esthetic charge.
Roma Auskalnyte will carry out a performance at the exhibition opening. A performative video installation repeating the themes of the performance will be on display throughout the exhibition. In her performance Auskalnyte prints text on the soles of her feet with lithographic stones, using her own weight as the press. As she moves, the image is reproduced with her steps. Gradually the marks fade away. Her other work consists of three large lithographic prints that depict the physical
nature of her work. Auskalnyte problematizes both being an artist and the creation of an artwork as a physical performance.
Inma Herrera’s installation consists of small individual works in which hands are presented as a medium for an experience and sensations. How is the sense of touch different from the sense of sight and what are all the things that our hands can tell us that we are not able to see? The copper plate floating on the floor is like a mirror smudged with fingerprints. It is just the right size that a grown-up is able to carry it with their arms spread out. Herrera’s works highlight the artist’s role as one’s own tool, material and medium.
Veikko Halmetoja
Contact:
SUVI SYSI
suvimariasysi(a)gmail.com
www.suvimariasysi.com
INMA HERRERA
inma.herrera(a)yahoo.es
www.inma-herrera.com
ROMA AUSKALNYTE
r.auskalnyte(a)gmail.com
www.rauskalnyte.wixsite.com/roma
Documentation of Roma Auskalnyte’s performance “Unsolid Ground” at the opening on Jan 27th: https://vimeo.com/201423596
