Material Light
The inaugural exhibition of the new MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre brings together practitioners from the broad field of light art
Finnish Light Art Society FLASH and Artists’ Association MUU present a joint venture, Material Light exhibition (January 12-31) with a programme of events that includes performances and a panel discussion (TBA), and also a workshop for professional artists later in Spring.
In the darkest time of the year, the exhibition brings together practitioners from the broad field of light art, demonstrating the potential of light as a medium and theme of artistic thinking. It examines the materiality of light on several levels and in a broad spectrum of mediums ranging from physical light to conceptual approaches. The works in the exhibition engage in a dialogue with each other and, with light unifying them, the exhibition as a whole can be seen as a single thematic installation.
What things can we find inside deep, dark black? Is every moment now? Can a body breathe light? What does light feel like? What are light beings? The works in the exhibition involve time, cycles and change, organismicity and perception. Light flows between the beginning and the end, from pores in the skin and into the eyes, and is finally absorbed into blackness.
The featured artists were selected in an open call for proposals. Representing a wide spectrum of visual and new media art, from moving image art to sculpture to painting, the featured artists are Anna Björklund, Michal Czinege, Jenni Eskola, Alexander Salvesen, Heidi Stålnacke and Artist Collective Kunst. The performance programme features Sara Kovamäki, Tom Lönnqvist and Arvid van der Rijt. The event is curated by visual artist Anu Raatikainen.
With practitioners from two national organisations, Material Light features an exceptionally broad range of expertise and offers a fruitful platform for cooperation and discovery.
The team members are Mia Kivinen and Juha Rouhikoski from FLASH, Timo Soppela and Ilkka Pitkänen from MUU, and artist Anu Raatikainen as the curator, with regional artist Leevi Lehtinen from Arts Promotion Centre Finland.
Material Light is the inaugural event of the new MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre, an international project space and centre for new forms of contemporary art. It serves artists regardless of their medium or discipline. Located in the former Cable factory, with its 160 square metres of floor space, the centre is a flexible venue that can host all kinds of events, exhibitions or training. With its 6 metre ceiling height and state-of-the-art technical facilities, it is able to accommodate highly demanding artworks and projects.
