Tuovi Eskola
The Marrakech of my images
20 January – 7 February 2016
Galleria Huuto Uudenmaankatu
When I paint, I imagine and illustrate places that I have never actually been to. I often have dreams of visiting places in different parts of the world. These dreams of different countries are the starting point for my paintings. For this exhibition I have selected paintings and drawings related to Morocco. I am fascinated by the country’s shameless colors, abundance and ornamentation.
The images in the paintings have been compiled from different sources – magazines and the internet, holiday pictures of strangers, trips I have made to faraway countries in my dreams as well as events, buildings and moments from the streets of my hometown, Helsinki. In my paintings, the flow of images from today’s world gets mixed up with personal experiences and memories.
My paintings consist of separate pieces, which allows me to break up the time, space and perspective within one frame. I depict the interior and exterior of buildings as well as various light and weather conditions at the same time.
I identify with Henri Matisse and his contemporaries who traveled all over the world and painted exotic images after being inspired by foreign cultures. I myself seek orientalism from the internet, eastern Helsinki or the ethnic grocery stores in the neighborhood of Kallio.
