The exhibition title Lactose Intolerant was chosen as a way to reference the problems that may arise in the mother-child relationship—regardless of whether a child is breastfed or not. Currently, there is no equivalent expression like “womb intolerant,” even though it would be more accurate in her case, considering how trauma is inherited through DNA and behaviours. Smith believes that such an articulation wouldn’t have the same humorous undertone that resonates with her works, and acts as a small shield of protection for both her and the viewer. In Smith’s effort for full transparency, she admits that her favourite food happens to be cheese fondue.
Smith believes that trauma is a clean word that says something without having to say anything. It summarises all the bad things: abuse, violence, assault, neglect, and all the subcategories within that, sexual abuse, rape, emotional and physical neglect, and loss, to name a few. Trauma puts those in an easy-to-understand package without having to tell about the unspeakable details. Nevertheless, Smith expresses her willingness to answer questions or provide further information if desired—as to engage in a conversation about the weight of trauma and how the act of creating could potentially be a form of healing.
The exhibition consists of three parts. Good Feelings Everyday (2020 – ongoing) features analogue snapshot photographs hanging in strips on the wall. They represent the artist’s current reality living in Finland and help ground her when invasive thoughts take over. Rainbow Catharsis (2020 – ongoing) showcases textile collages that incorporate used household fabrics and personal photographs to evoke a material, textual, and visual memory as a means towards reclamation. The works are direct and unafraid of confrontation. There is no messing about except in the paint strokes. The aesthetic qualities of colour, imperfection, flaws, and a sense of urgency reflect the artist’s desperation to expel, in her words, the “bad things” from her body and recover from the past. The ten-minute sound work, I Stopped Wearing Skirts (2023), is a combination of chronologically arranged clips taken from recordings of exposure therapy, which the artist underwent for eight weeks in 2022 under proper guidance. The clips are mixed with a nostalgic 80s-sounding cinematic soundtrack that references the artist’s youth.
Juliana Irene Smith (b. 1977) is a half-American, half-Iranian expat based in Helsinki who works with generational trauma through material memory, text, and photography. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and she has also taught in various countries around the world. From 2009–2012 she lived and worked in Ramallah, Palestine. Prior to permanently settling in Finland in 2017, Smith lived and worked in Cape Town, South Africa, where she co-founded the artist-run non-profit organisation ALMA MARTHA. She holds a BFA in Photography from the Parsons School of Design in New York City and a Master in Public Art from the University of Applied Arts and Sciences in Lucerne, Switzerland.
The exhibition is supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike) and Svenska Kulturfonden.
Thank you, Fat Lizard, for sponsoring beverages at the opening reception.
Juliana Irene Smith
Lactose Intolerant
4.–27.8.2023
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte
