Jenni Yppärilä
The Mine
3.6.-18.6.2017
Galleria Huuto Jätkäsaari, Jätkä 1
The exhibition is based on the former mine village of Lampinsaari in Northern Ostrobothnia. Outokumpu Oy built the Lampinsaari village and all its services in the middle of a wetland area in the 1950s. In its heyday the village had over a thousand inhabitants and recreational activities from a bowling alley to a movie theater. The mine was closed during the 1990s recession, after which most of the services also disappeared. Currently the village has a population of less than 300. Many of the buildings are empty and the area around the mine has been fenced off due to the risk of collapse.
I have worked on this exhibition for two years, exploring written material about Lampinsaari and traveling to the location to take photographs. One of the aims has been to introduce this historical location that flourished for the duration of one generation’s working life. I examine structural change and its impact on the built environment. I focus on depicting abandonment and human traces through three-dimensional paintings and soundscapes. Musician Alpo Nummelin was in charge of sound design.
On a larger scale the exhibition depicts the change in Finnish society and rural areas becoming deserted. I reflect on the right to exist and the transfer of responsibility after the financial benefit disappeared.
Jenni Yppärilä (b. 1980) is a Tampere-based artist who mainly portrays the built environment through three-dimensional paintings. The Mine is Yppärilä’s second solo exhibition in Helsinki. Her works are included, for example, in the collections of Kiasma, Oulu Museum of Art, Pori Art Museum and Tampere Art Museum.
Thank you for the support:
Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Alfred Kordelin Foundation and Majaoja Foundation.
Further information:
Jenni Yppärilä
Tel. +358 45 635 6159
jenni_ypparila(a)hotmail.com
www.jenniypparila.com
