KATVE
Katve (Sacred sites) ,Photographic Centre Peri, Turku 1.12.-30.12.2017
Näyttelyteksti:
Katve on jokin alue tai kohta. Katve on kuin kuolleessa kulmassa, hieman varjossa. Se on metsän siimeksessä. Katveeseen ei saa helposti yhteyttä - se on saavuttamaton.
Lilli Haapala käsittelee teoksissaan ihmisen suhdetta ympäristöön ja havaittuun todellisuuteen. Näyttelyssään Katve (Sacred sites) Haapala on jatkanut työskentelyään ihmisen luontosuhteen parissa. Näyttelyn osallistavat teokset tarkastelevat näkemisen ja havainnon prosesseja. Näyttely onkin saanut alkunsa näkemiseen, havaintoon ja ymmärtämiseen liittyvistä kysymyksistä. Millainen on mielikuvien koskematon luonnonmaisema, entä onko sellaista todellisuudessa olemassa? Miten ihmisen ymmärrys ympäristöstä on muuttunut ajan kuluessa? Entä miten ympäristö on nähty ennen ja nähdään nykyisin?
Suomen metsien katveessa on sijainnut useita pyhiä paikkoja, joihin on liittynyt monenlaisia uskomuksia. Paikkoihin liittyi myös jokin ihmiselle näkymätön ja toisessa todellisuudessa oleva, rajantakainen. Näyttelyn 3D-kuvat tutkivat valokuvan rajoja. Kuvat näyttäytyvät kuin portteina toisiin todellisuuksiin, joihin kuitenkaan ei voi astua.
KESKUSTELUTILAISUUS tiistaina 5.12. klo 16-18
Tekstit näyttelystä:
https://kunstportal.art/katve-sacred-sites/
in English
The Finnish word katve refers to an area or a place. Katve is almost like a blind spot, slightly hidden. It is deep in the shade of the forest. Katve is not easily approached; it is unattainable.
In her pieces, Lilli Haapala examines people’s relationship with the environment and the perceived reality. In her exhibition Katve (Sacred sites), Haapala continues her exploration of people’s relationship with nature. The engaging pieces in the exhibition examine the processes of seeing and perceiving. In fact, the exhibition stems from questions related to seeing, perceiving and understanding. What does the unspoilt natural scenery of our imagination look like? Does such a landscape even exist in reality any more? How has people’s understanding of the environment changed over time? How was the environment seen before and how is it seen today?
The deep shades of Finnish forests have been home to a number of sacred sites that have given rise to various beliefs. The sites were also connected to something invisible to the human eye, something in a different reality, somewhere beyond. Being-towards-the-border is a definition, devised by philosopher Johannes Ojansuu, of a certain kind of basic preparedness in our consciousness that defines our everyday existence. It is based on Martin Heidegger’s concept of understanding mortality, also known as Being-towards-death. This sense of border and the word ‘sacred’ are closely interconnected. In addition to their existential characteristics, the words even used to share a common etymological meaning. The Finnish word for ‘sacred’, pyhä, is related to the word piha, ‘yard’, and was used to signify, for example, an isolated or outlined area in a forest or the edge of a forest. In English, the word ‘sacred’ refers to setting apart, whereas the word ‘holy’ refers to being whole. Therefore, these words suggest both comprehensiveness and limitedness.
The 3D images in the exhibition examine the limits of a photograph. The images appear as gates into other realities that one cannot enter. The image is only a reflection, a ghost or a mirage, and it will not let you in. In the video installation, the ghostliness of the projected image is emphasised due to its immaterial nature. On the other hand, the everyday material onto which the image is reflected emphasises the moment between mental images and reality; what the forest used to be and what it is today. The enchanting and aesthetic image breaks down when one passes through it but still will not let anyone in.
Haapala has worked on the pieces of the exhibition from 2015 to 2017 in the residences of AARK, Örö and Utö, among other places. The exhibition has been supported by Southwest Finland (2017) and Uusimaa (2016) regional offices of the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. The artist thanks these parties for their contribution.