Anastasia Artemeva & Liisa Ahlfors
Mökki / Дача
Galleria Huuto Uudenmaankatu
21 June – 9 July 2017
Mökki / Дача
“And it has become incredibly important, also with regard to my roots and stuff. Just the other day I was thinking that I can’t wait to go there again, but what if the cottage burns down or something? Or if something else happens and it’s no longer there, what would I do?”
A Finnish mökki and a Russian dacha usually refer to a seasonal holiday home in the countryside. Anastasia Artemeva and Liisa Ahlfors’ Russian-Finnish collaboration project Mökki / Дача at Galleria Huuto on Uudenmaankatu is an artistic depiction of the exploration into the similarities and differences between holiday homes in these two countries and cultures.
The starting points for our collaboration are both personal and political. Our families did not have a mökki or a dacha when we were young, even though they are very common in both cultures. We have also approached a phenomenon that has been discussed in the Finnish media in recent years, that of Russians buying land and holiday homes in lake areas that are considered a Finnish national landscape. With our exhibition we wanted to examine the Finnish and Russian idea of a mökki or a dacha as an institution that expresses the national identity and questions it by giving a voice to individual experiences and views of a mökki and dacha on both sides.
Using the material, interviews, personal photographs, memories and stories collected from Finnish mökki people as well as Russian dachniks who have moved to Finland, we have created an installation that will serve as a shared summer house in the middle of the city. Mökki / Дача is an attempt to create a space for cultural exchange with the aim of narrowing the gap between the two neighboring countries, Finland and Russia.
Finnish summer has yet to begin but our Mökki / Дача is open for only a few more days. We are happy to invite you to our closing event on Saturday July 8th, where we will celebrate summer cottage lifestyle with a day of workshops and lectures.
Susanna Pakula from Käymäläseura Huussi ry will give a lecture on outdoor lavatories and utilisation of human waste from outdoor lavatories.
In a textile repair workshop by Saša Nemec, we will explore the techniques of darning clothes and mending embroidery. Come by with clean clothing in need of small repairs, not more than 2-3 per person. Saša will help you choose the design and technique of mending most appropriate for your garment and help you with the execution.
Susanna Pakula/Käymäläseura Huussi ry at 1.15 pm – 2 pm.
Saša Nemec/Fashion Revolution at 2.30 pm – 4.30 pm.
The exhibition is open as usual from noon till 5pm! It continues until 9th of July with the same hours.
Liisa Ahlfors (b. 1985) is an artist based in Tampere. She earned a Master of Arts degree from Aalto University and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Her work is fed by the challenge of a new environment through encounters with sites, situations or objects. Her works usually take the shape of a temporary installation built directly in the space.
Anastasia Artemeva (b. 1989, Moscow, Russia) works and lives in Helsinki. She earned a Master of Arts degree from Aalto University as well as a BA degree from Limerick School of Art and Design in Ireland. Artemeva studies interaction and creates a setting for it. She is interested in the codes of social norms and accepted truths, questioning transparency and exclusivity affected by socio-political, cultural and personal restrictions.
On Saturday July 8th there will be a day of summer cottage related workshops, taking place during the gallery opening hours 12 – 5pm. More info coming soon!
The exhibition has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
https://mokkidatsa.wordpress.com/
Further information:
Anastasia Artemeva
+358 44 237 6564
anastasia.artemeva(at)outlook.com
www.anastasia-artemeva.com
Liisa Ahlfors
+358 50 348 6725
liisaahlfors(at)gmail.com
www.liisahlfors.com
