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ARCTIC HYSTERIA. CONTEMPORARY ART FROM FINLAND

Applying cultural clichés as a catalyst, the exhibition focuses on stereotypes, which has given cultural meaning to the specificities of a given region, Finland. Literally speaking Finland does not belong to the Arctic in a geographic sense, but the Finns are – as are, say, the Russians, the French and the English – believed to have specific national characteristics. A cliché often repeated, when discussing Finnish people, is their supposedly close connection with nature.

In fact, the humanity-nature relationship emerges as a sort of connecting thread throughout Arctic Hysteria, bridging generations and boundaries of genre in Finnish contemporary art. The utopian optimism of the 1960s and 1970s concerning technological progress is confronted with an anxiety about the environment and future in the works of younger artists. This reflects a general change that has happened in the world at large during the last four decades: From the science-fiction utopia of a new era, a space age, we have to get back to Earth and acknowledge a reality in which, after centuries of neglect, we have no choice but to take seriously environmental threats such as the climate change.

Arctic Hysteria is an intriguing review of Finnish contemporary art curated by Alanna Heiss (New York) and Marketta Seppälä (Helsinki). The exhibition is comprised of the works of over 15 contemporary Finnish artists focusing especially on mediums of photo, film, video and sound installation: Veli Granö, Ilkka Halso, Pekka Jylhä, Tellervo Kalleinen & Oliver Kochta-Kalleinen, Reijo Kela, Erkki Kurenniemi, Tea Mäkipää, Pink Twins, Petri Sirviö/The Screaming Men, Anni Rapinoja, Jari Silomäki, Mika Taanila and Salla Tykkä. Curators: Alanna Heiss (USA) and Marketta Haila (Finland).

The exhibition is organized in St. Petersburg by State Museum and Exhibition Centre ROSPHOTO and the Artists’ Association of Finland with the support of FRAME Finnish Fund for Art Exchange. The exhibition is made possible by the Ministry of Education and Culture Finland, Gerda and Salomo Wuorio Foundation, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Finnish Cultural Foundation, Finnish Film Foundation, Arts Council of Finland, AVEK (The Promotion Centre for Audiovisual Culture), and Finnish Cultural Institute in St. Petersburg.