JOHANNA SIPILÄ: In The Middle Of Nothing

The exhibition travels through a desolate landscape, towns, a desert and mountains. The journey continues for weeks, from one highway to another and from one motel to the next, until one day in the middle of nowhere the narrator experiences a surprising loss. The exhibition depicts the change in the atmosphere during repeated days of driving and travel routines, how nothing in the wider landscape looks the same as it did the day before and even the smallest details have changed.

The exhibition features paintings, painting animations and a soundscape. At the heart of the large paintings are the atmosphere, color and movement. The animations get their content and form through the brush strokes, the power of painting and the wild expression of colors.

Animation: Nanja Kataja
Voice over: Steve Vanoni
Viola: Ismo Alanko

Johanna Sipilä (b. 1976) is a Helsinki-based visual artist/painter. She graduated from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2007 and before that she studied at the Free Art School. Sipilä has had solo exhibitions and taken part in group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. She has worked at various artist residences all over the world and lived in Tallinn where she was actively involved in the local art scene. After returning to Finland, she began working on the island of Harakka in Helsinki. The closeness of nature and the sea are visible elements in her art.

ON THE PHOTO: Johanna Sipilä ”Värit”