Tatu Tuominen
Nautilus
31.3. – 18.4.2010
Galleria Huuto Uudenmaankatu
Nautilus (Pearly Nautilus) = a mollusk in the class Cephalopoda. 400–500 millions of years ago, the Nautilus was the ruling predator of the seas. The shell of the Nautilus is spiral, chambered, and symmetrical. The Nautilus lives off the coasts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
Nautilus = a submarine in the novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
USS Nautilus = the world’s first operational nuclear-powered submarine (completed in 1952)
In addition to the above, Nautilus is a Bob James song from 1974. A jazz classic, it is known as the most sampled song in the world. Dozens of artists have used parts of it in their own songs. I, too, make music by sampling, which means rearranging and replaying pieces of old recordings. The new pieces, I hope, are interesting and contemporary. The parts of an old song become relevant in a brand new way.
The works of this exhibition have been created in the same way. I have taken samples of my surroundings by photographing things that have attracted my attention, such as nature in the city; the treasures of a second-hand record shop; or a lonely apartment building.
A mollusk takes soundings beneath the surface. A nuclear-powered submarine passes underneath the North Pole. These two travel on, observing a world that can never be entirely familiar to us. For the exhibition, I unraveled afterimages, memories, and snapshots into pieces. Little by little, a memory became a physical item, and the flickering vision turned into something tangible. Pursuing the moments that were my sources, I slowly cut out paper spiderwebs. I puffed colorful strokes of spray paint. Finally, I cast resin into a partially reflecting and partially translucent surface under which these memories will stay intact forever.
Tatu Tuominen is an artist whose works mix painting, photography, and graphic arts. His working process is not unlike the structure of the memory: something remembered changes when reminiscing, and a part of it is lost beyond recall. What remains are the imprints gilded with nostalgy, and the repressed – hidden between images and the memories.
Tatu Tuominen received his Master’s Degree from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2006. Lately, his works have been on display in the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki; the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai; the Kluuvi Gallery of the Helsinki City Art Museum; the Pori Art Museum; and the Finnish Institute in Stockholm.
The exhibition has been kindly supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Arts Council of Finland.
Hi-res images can be obtained at the gallery or from the artist.
Tatu Tuominen
tatu.tuominen(at)kuva.fi
p. 0442631028
