PRIVATE SPACE

Photo exhibition 
Students of Photography
The Voionmaa Institute, Finland

AKTO Gallery, Athens, Greece, 11.5.2009-

One of the tasks of an artist is how to divulge and express in an understandable way the most private spaces – may they be hidden material milieus or immaterial states of mind.  Making invisibleness visible. Those private places can be dark and awesome; but they can be bright and buoyant. 

Uncovering private spaces is the umbrella idea of this exhibition, even though all the eleven artists have quite different kind of variations about the concecpt of privateness, privacy and how comprehensive the space is.

In some photos we can see that privateness like from a far, like through draperies created by photographer. In the works of Laura Näkki the classical printing method, calotype, estranges their objects from immediate perception. Modern phenomena are in past visual context; privateness is in the illusionistic remoteness.  Also in the very graphical works of Sirpa Sorola one can become aware of
this kind of remoteness  - now phenomena are veiled because they seem to be in long and dream-like endless passages. But not so veiled because of  the heatening colours: deep black and scorching red. Minni Soverila comes very close to her photographed individuals. But they are also far away, in their obscure dreams, thoughts, ant to the utmost, in death masks. Question of the veiled nature of newborn or unborn, is in the series of Lauri Tuisku. 

More in the existing world seem to be the works of Jukka Aro, Nina Leppälä and Kukka-Maria Rosenlund. In Jukka Aro´s photos there are persons, who have had a very strong impact to his own life. Now he is showing the narrational elements of these relationships. Nina Leppälä studies different kind of phobias; what photographed persons are afraid of and how their phobias are visualized when they are out of the circle of their fears, as released ones. Kukka-Maria Rosenlund presents in her photos at the same time past and present. In black and white prints the photographed person is in some kind of role, again veiled with the tokens of past. 

Role-taking is significant in the series of Rauli Riihiaho. As he says himself: “The idea of people being a puppet and pulled by strings is intriguing, even scary.” But also there can be seen the timeless concept of masqueraded drama of antiquity. Without masks but layed into their roles are persons in the photos of Jaan-Erik Vainio. “In my portrait-series I criticize the relation between individuals and society. An individual is more than a stigmatized social security number inside some institutions file”, writes he. Also Turkka Nikula puts his objects in roles: scary, dark and capable to wound and to be wounded in the extreme humaneness. 

The darkness is most private. And in Northern Countries there are plenty of dark hours. But what is darkness, asks Veli-Matti Hoikka in his photographs. When we talk about darkness, it is the concept of darkness we mean. But in reality there is no total darkness -  our perception and senses prove it. In photographer´s words “I saw the darkness in my room just after turning the lights off. After fifteen minutes I was not yet fallen asleep and also the darkness had vanished.”

Uncovering private space exposes in point of fact more about the photographers themselves as the concrete motifs seen in the photos. These photographs are evidences of courage and fortitude, which are the most important strengths of any artist. Visual narration about the visible world can be good documentary, but averting the gaze into the privateness and invisibility is good art. 

The photographers prove with their works that they are artists with consciousness about their own personalities. The variety of feelings can be seen in the photographs like in mirrors, but at the same time like through the opened windows. They are private but at the same time they bring this privatness before the public. 

These pictures allow the catharsis: release the mind, create the balance, raise dialogues, purge fears. And, most of all, give new ways of thinking. 

As good art shall do. 

The concept of catharsis can be found in Aristotle's concept of art, virtues and feelings. 
Catharsis in art will relieve balance:

“I mean moral virtue; for it is this that is concerned with passions and actions, and in these there is excess, defect, and the intermediate. For instance, both fear and confidence and appetite and anger and pity and in general pleasure and pain may be felt both too much and too little, and in both cases not well; but to feel them at the right times, with reference to the right objects, towards right people, with the right motive, and in the right way, is what is both intermediate and best, and this is characteristic of virtue.”

- Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics, Book II, Ch. 6

Hannu Sinisalo

Head of Photography, The Voionmaa Institute

hannu.e.sinisalo@uta.fi