10.8. – 27.9. 2008
The Gallery, Burren College of Arts, Ireland
Image: Story Cafe by Johanna Lecklin
The Due North is not focused on one particular subject or a theme. It has brought together a collection of interesting modern Finnish photography that all has a ‘Northern’- analytical and conceptual approach to photography.
The Due North -group exhibition was created as a follow-up to several well received individual exhibitions of Finnish photographers in Ireland, such as Elina Brotherus, Heli Rekula and Johanna Lecklin. The exhibition is mainly photographic, but it also has an emphasis on modern art and artist-led creative exploration.
The Finnish artists chosen for the exhibition are: Heli Rekula, Pertti Kekarainen, Johanna Lecklin, Lea ja Pekka Kantonen, Sami van Ingen and Jan Svenungsson from Sweden.
What connects these artists is their conceptual use of photography and willingness to experiment with different mediums in photography. The other common nominator is that nearly all the artists are completing their PhD’s in the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki.
Like the exhibition, the catalogue produced for the exhibition concentrates on the analytical and conceptual nature of photography and it therefore introduces the artists both with pictures and words.
The Exhibitors:
Pertti Kekarainen exhibits ten photographs from his series ‘Spaces’. These photographs have previously been shown in Gallery Anhava in Finland 2008.
Johanna Lecklin is showing several works from her ‘Story Cafe’-series on monitors. Lecklin filmed her footage all over the world. In the film, she asked people to tell her their stories, whilst she offered them free coffee. Works from the series have been exhibited in several different countries, including Limerick in Ireland.
Lea ja Pekka Kantonen are exhibiting their works from a series called ‘Lempipaikka’, ‘Favourite Place’. The theme for this series is the identity of young indigenous people and their relationship to their environment. The photographs show the young people posing with pictures of themselves in the same location. The series was previously shown in The Finnish Museum of Photography in 2006.
Sami van Ingen produces new works for the exhibition. Van Ingen’s work tells the story of a journey he and his grandmother made to her childhood home in the Aran Islands in 1995. Van Ingen’s grandmother is the daughter of famous film director Robert Flaherty and worked as his still-photographer on projects, such as Man of Aran. This work is culturally and historically significant, as Flaherty’s personal files have not yet been examined.
Jan Svenungsson is showing a series of photographs featuring his chimney sculptures. Svenungsson is famous for the eight chimneys he built in different countries. The chimneys are not connected in any other way except that they are all pictures/sculptures.
Heli Rekula has a residency at the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in the summer of 2008 and she will be exhibiting new landscape photography from Ireland.
Due North was organised in partnership with the Irish Arts Council, Burren College of Arts, Frame and the Academy of Fine Arts in Finland.
The Gallery
Burren College of Arts
Newtown Castle
Ballyvaughan
Co. Claire
Ireland
Tel: + 353 65 707 7200
The Gallery, Burren College of Arts, Ireland
Image: Story Cafe by Johanna Lecklin
The Due North is not focused on one particular subject or a theme. It has brought together a collection of interesting modern Finnish photography that all has a ‘Northern’- analytical and conceptual approach to photography.
The Due North -group exhibition was created as a follow-up to several well received individual exhibitions of Finnish photographers in Ireland, such as Elina Brotherus, Heli Rekula and Johanna Lecklin. The exhibition is mainly photographic, but it also has an emphasis on modern art and artist-led creative exploration.
The Finnish artists chosen for the exhibition are: Heli Rekula, Pertti Kekarainen, Johanna Lecklin, Lea ja Pekka Kantonen, Sami van Ingen and Jan Svenungsson from Sweden.
What connects these artists is their conceptual use of photography and willingness to experiment with different mediums in photography. The other common nominator is that nearly all the artists are completing their PhD’s in the Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki.
Like the exhibition, the catalogue produced for the exhibition concentrates on the analytical and conceptual nature of photography and it therefore introduces the artists both with pictures and words.
The Exhibitors:
Pertti Kekarainen exhibits ten photographs from his series ‘Spaces’. These photographs have previously been shown in Gallery Anhava in Finland 2008.
Johanna Lecklin is showing several works from her ‘Story Cafe’-series on monitors. Lecklin filmed her footage all over the world. In the film, she asked people to tell her their stories, whilst she offered them free coffee. Works from the series have been exhibited in several different countries, including Limerick in Ireland.
Lea ja Pekka Kantonen are exhibiting their works from a series called ‘Lempipaikka’, ‘Favourite Place’. The theme for this series is the identity of young indigenous people and their relationship to their environment. The photographs show the young people posing with pictures of themselves in the same location. The series was previously shown in The Finnish Museum of Photography in 2006.
Sami van Ingen produces new works for the exhibition. Van Ingen’s work tells the story of a journey he and his grandmother made to her childhood home in the Aran Islands in 1995. Van Ingen’s grandmother is the daughter of famous film director Robert Flaherty and worked as his still-photographer on projects, such as Man of Aran. This work is culturally and historically significant, as Flaherty’s personal files have not yet been examined.
Jan Svenungsson is showing a series of photographs featuring his chimney sculptures. Svenungsson is famous for the eight chimneys he built in different countries. The chimneys are not connected in any other way except that they are all pictures/sculptures.
Heli Rekula has a residency at the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios in the summer of 2008 and she will be exhibiting new landscape photography from Ireland.
Due North was organised in partnership with the Irish Arts Council, Burren College of Arts, Frame and the Academy of Fine Arts in Finland.
The Gallery
Burren College of Arts
Newtown Castle
Ballyvaughan
Co. Claire
Ireland
Tel: + 353 65 707 7200