Mika J. Ripatti
Borderline paranormal
3-27 August 2023
My exhibition features at least three videos that form an entity focused on paranormal phenomena.
“Jesus, Satan and Flying Saucers” is based on the occult writings of the late neo-Nazi leader Pekka Siitoin, published under the pseudonym Jonathan Shedd. In addition to “leading the nation” and satanism, he was an avid filmmaker. This work was inspired by the thought of making a short film as if Siitoin had made a film based on his own writings. Some of the viewer feedback I remember included the words “crazy” and “a trip”.
In another work, entitled “… under a pseudonym due to the sensitive nature of the issue”, I tell the camera about my ghost experience from decades ago, while being disguised as Juhan af Grann.
In the final work of the trilogy, “Psychic Discoveries Behind the Iron Curtain”, I continue channeling my inner af Grann. The work is based on a 1968 “non-fiction book” of the same name depicting the hair-raising adventures of American parapsychology researchers on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
All three videos are pastiches of my childhood’s frighteningly fascinating world of paranormal phenomena. In the early 1970s, it penetrated into middle-class homes as the Finnish broadcasting company Yleisradio showed Uri Geller bending spoons on live television. The videos pay homage to the clumsiness of the analogue television era and the scratches in a photochemical film.
The works have been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Contact details
mika.j.ripatti(a)gmail.com
vimeo.com/mikajripatti
