Rasmus Mäkelä
Repeater
6.-30.7.2023
The artist will be present on Sat-Sun 22-23 July at 12-6pm.
I got my first skateboard in the summer between second and third grade. Skateboarding became a lifestyle, a guideline that helped me figure out my place in the world. Now, at 32 years old, the 10-hour-long skating days of my childhood are replaced by occasional visits to the nearby park – because of the lack of time for active searching of spots, places suited for skateboarding. Some things remain the same, such as endless repetition and the pure joy of success.
In my work Repeater I examine the struggle behind learning a new trick. Most of the time put into skateboarding consists of failure, but skate videos are almost entirely made up of moments when everything falls into place. This makes it look easy. For me skateboarding is a form of street art, in which creativity, personality and unique style are essential. All this takes an enormous amount of experimentation, repetition and disappointment.
For my other video work I returned to the spots of my childhood; to places where I’ve sacrificed countless days learning new things. What do these corners of urban space look like to those who have never skated?
Rasmus Mäkelä (b. 1991 in Orimattila, Finland) is a Helsinki based visual artist dealing with intertwining themes such as time, change, space and light. Often his works are reactions to feelings, such as anxiety and helplessness, caused by ephemerality. Experimentation and playfulness as well as incompleteness and recycling of works play a key role in his practice. Mäkelä graduated as a Master of Arts in photography from the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture in the spring of 2021.
Thank you
Roope, Petra and mum.
The exhibition is supported by Kauno ry.
Contact details
ras.makela(a)gmail.com
rasmusmakela.com
IG: @rasmus.m
