Emilia Ukkonen
NED’S STORY
1.2.-24.2.2019
This is the story of Ned, a cat whose life was unusual in many ways. Ned found his way from a cardboard box in a Tokyo department store to the United States and since then he traveled between the U.S. and Japan at least twice, perhaps four times. The man who ended up taking care of Ned did not want him in the first place and tried to give the cat away several times. Ned’s time with other people was always short-lived and tragic – and every time he stubbornly returned to his reluctant owner.
Ned’s Story is a single-channel video based on a real story. Through this video, artist Emilia Ukkonen (b. 1983) wants to show the tragicomic side of life and record stories that we would otherwise forget or ignore.
Ukkonen graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2008. Since then she has lived a nomadic life in European metropolises and big American cities. Ukkonen works mainly with moving images but she also feels at home with other techniques. Ukkonen collaborates with her husband Alex Fleischer who is often seen in her works. Ukkonen’s works have been on display in Finland and abroad, for example at the Marion de Canniere arts space in Antwerp, Rotterdam Film Festival, Impact Festival in Utrecht, the Prague Triennale, Kunsthalle Helsinki, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Design Museum in Helsinki and Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art in Vaasa.
Further information:
Emilia Ukkonen
emilia.ukkonen.projects(at)gmail.com
www.emiliaukkonen.fi
