Aukeama - Opening space, 2023

Plaster, beeswax, sounds, experiences

Aukeama – Opening space is Lin’s thesis project in their MFA studies that focuses on exploring the navel experientially. The starting point for the process was thinking about what the thesis context could enable. Lin ended up thinking about the thesis from a personal, social and political perspective which formed the project to become a platform for queer people to meet around shared questions about feelings and needs, consent, skin, touch and movement. The group was gathered through an open invitation letter where queer people were invited to participate in the joint exploration of the navel. In addition to the group meetings, there were one-to-one meetings with Lin to do navel mold casting where, among other things, the memories associated with the navel and the role of the navel in each person’s life were discussed. The navel plaster casting and cast beeswax were displayed with sound recordings and text in the Kuvan Kevät 2023 exhibition at Academy of Fine Arts. The installation was accompanied by a performance Napapiiri – Navel Circle which was an expedition led by five people from the group inside the Academy of Fine Arts. The work had ritual elements and it invited the audience to co-compose their own journey with the themes of care, touch and connectedness while traveling together alongside the other art works of the exhibition. The performance was rich in its details bringing together carefully considered elements (among other things edible navel sculptures) from different disciplines that enforce and support Lin’s corporeal thinking and aims as an artist.