Laura Pohjonen
Pajama Party
25.4.-19.5.2024
30 April the exhibitions are open until 4 pm.
May 1 and on Ascension Day May 9 the gallery is closed.
You have to swing, dance and stand on your head every day.
-Elis Sinistö
I have used old hospital pajamas as a material for my works. I printed faces on them using the mezzotint printmaking technique. The strange figures started to take shape as I sewed them, and they also needed some embroidery on them. The work process was very intuitive and I wanted to trust it. Something that was different from my previous artworks was being created and it felt good and liberating. I felt the bubbly joy of working and I had so much fun with these figures. I found some kind of an outsider artist in me. Together with my dolls, I can laugh at everything that seems overly important and serious, also at myself.
At a more analytical level, I am also exploring the softness and fragility of humans, which has been a starting point for my work for some time. My choice of material is also related to this aspect. When wearing hospital pajamas, we are bare and fragile. Humanity is deconstructed, showing how similar we all actually are. I also wanted to add something soft to these hard times. The dolls are soft and offer us security and comfort. But works are often wiser than their maker, so let the pajama party people speak for themselves.
Laura Pohjonen has studied at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and at the Academy of Fine Arts. She earned her Master of Arts degree in 2000. Since1998, she has had more than 40 solo exhibitions and taken part in numerous joint and group exhibitions in both Finland and abroad. Her works are included for example in the following collections: State Art Deposit Collection, Amos Rex, HAM (Raimo and Maarit Huttunen’s collection), HUS art collection, Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art (Swanljung collection), Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, City ofTampere (Museum of Contemporary Art), Finnish Art Society, Parliament’s art collection, Jyväskylä Art Museum.
Thank you
Arts Promotion Centre Finland
Contact details
www.laurapohjonen.info
www.instagram.com/laurapohjonen
