Common Things
Contemporary art from Sweden and Finland
Kiasma (2nd floor) and the Hanasaari Culture Centre

PRESS RELEASE

The COMMON THINGS depicts the phenomena of our times
The Common things exhibition, which presents Finnish and Swedish
contemporary art, is a
reflection of us all. The works of six artists distil personal
experiences and evolve into a
common and identifiable representation of our time and its phenomena.
The artists reflect on
work and well-being at work, personal identity, exclusion, and
selfishness.

The exhibition approaches individuals through thematic reflection. Anna
Ekman’s photographic
series Black Pond draws from the story of Narcissus. Ekman depicts the
reflection of a young man’s
face on water. The face in the darkness disintegrates and becomes
unidentifiable and fragmented.
The piece symbolises self-absorption and mental instability. In
addition, Astrid Svangren touches
on reflection and the formation of identity in her paintings. She
paints on reflective surfaces,
making the viewer and surroundings a part of the painting. Svangren
deals with various subjects,
including memories and becoming a woman.

To what kind of communities do individual persons belong - or not
belong? The exhibition takes
a look at an individual’s relationship with the community. Ulrika
Minami Wärmling finds her
inspiration from the bourgeoisie-depicting portrait painting tradition
of the 19th century. As
models she uses her goth friends from all over the world. Kristina
Müntzing explores themes
related to immigration and cultural identity in her installation New
Swedes. The installation
comprises hundreds of dolls, a combination of souvenirs from various
cultures and figures from
popular culture.

Well-being at work is one of the key issues of our time. Tellervo
Kalleinen and Oliver Kochta-
Kalleinen collected real stories on difficult relationships at work and
related fictional solutions
for their video installation I Love My Job. The work was filmed in
Sweden and Finland. Jari
Silomäki’s photographic series’s Stories of alienation and Profile
- a potential school killer focus on
social issues. His works, which incorporate pictures and text, portray
the situations and defence
mechanisms of various individuals very realistically.

The exhibition is a part of the Finnish-Swedish Culture Foundation’s
50th anniversary programme
and it is a joint project between Kiasma, the Finnish-Swedish Culture
Foundation, and the
Hanasaari Culture Centre. It is open from 14 April to 12 September 2010
at Kiasma (2nd floor) and
the Hanasaari Culture Centre.

The exhibition was curated by Pirkko Siitari who was recently appointed
as Kiasma's new Museum Director.

Additional information
Museum Director Pirkko Siitari, pirkko.siitari@kiasma.fi 
Kiasma Communications
Communications Manager Merja Kukkonen, +358 40 163 7352,
merja.kukkonen@kiasma.fi,
kiaviesti@kiasma.fi 

Press photos www.kiasma.fi/press