Lotta Karoliina Räsänen explores girlhood as a broader social construction and aesthetics. Girlhood as a word does not only refer to childhood, but also to a psychological level and gender experience. Girlhood is a liminal state, deep undertone behind a smile and gaze, clumsy and troublesome, overflowing. Lotta explores the experience of girlhood as part of the process of creating works – what it feels like to be a girl who makes art and is an artist/is in art.
Silver Tsäko’s works speak of identity dissolution, yearning and change. Although his gender identity differs from the mainstream, it still contains a lot of universal humanity and is equally existent. Silver brings the trans experience to the audience through dystopian and sci-fi works that stretch the physical boundaries of the body. He approaches the body and gender in a playful and experimental way, telling the story of his own experience as a trans person.
Carmen Ööbik brings different bodies into the space without idealizing them. With her works, she wants to show that every body can be beautiful and interesting in itself. The body should not be criticized, but rather the lived life that is visible in them should be respected. Carmen feels that although gender is not significant in everyone’s eyes, many situations are still very gender based. The processes that occur in a female body are still a social taboo. Carmen wants to deal with the body in her art, through the female gaze.
Although the artists approach the exhibition through different themes, they support each other and share similar life experiences. Above all, they want to say with the exhibition: “here, in spite of it all.”
Thank you: Berit Talpsepp-Jaanisoo, Leena Kuutma, Paul Mänd, Helene Lüüsi, Tuuli Puhvel, Len Toots, Andreas Tukmann, Tiina Viilop, Department of Sculpture at Pallas University of Applied Sciences, Langemaa Veinid.
