Salla Myllylä
NOTES FROM THE HARBOR
9.3-24.3. 2013 Galleria Huuto Jätkäsaari 2
I spent many midwinter days in an old warehouse by the Jätkäsaari harbor, between cruise ships and the new neighborhood. When it became dark, the windows dominated the space as the building was just a black shell. The events occurring outside rushed in, colored by the bright orange harbor lights. The trams rattled by filled with cruise passengers and customers from the nearby electronics store. The deck offered a panoramic view of the harbor which is probably the best urban landscape in the city.
My work, which is somewhere between drawing, painting and moving images, is always connected to a specific place. I used to observe my neighborhood – a suburb in eastern Helsinki – through charcoal drawings and animations, however recently I have been given the opportunity to work on projects in the new neighborhoods of Kalasatama and Jätkäsaari.
Over the past year I have been developing the idea of physically adding an outline or a mask to a video by taping, painting or scratching. For the Jätkäsaari project I painted a window with buttermilk and tried to scratch a picture on its surface so the harbor buildings could still be seen. I filmed the passing of time through this window. As a result I created a sort of moving painting which turned out to be a lot more poetic than what I thought it would. Although, what do you expect when you film sunsets and sunrises?
Just like many other creators of moving images, I recognize a kindred spirit with early film-makers who used a camera in a fixed position and who believed that movement as a subject was enough to create interest. At this exhibition, visitors can witness a boat leaving, birds flying and the sun moving over the harbor.
Salla completed her painting studies at the Free Art School in 2009 and she is currently studying at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. Notes from the harbor is her third solo exhibition and part of her MFA degree.
