Great Urban Expectations 18.8-6.9.2009
The theme of my previous exhibition was urban nature. The subject of my paintings also deals with city surroundings. I have searched for expectations which deal with possibilities brought by the city life. E.g. comic strips and advertisement have been in my mind when making this art.
Expectation of an expectation, acrylics 120 x 170 cm, 2009
On a cold day in Helsinki I ran into over hundred young people queuing up and sitting on the pavement. I photographed them. I do not know what they were queuing up for but the wait was physical, several hours long waiting in the coldness. Maybe they were fans of Apulanta, waiting for Waiting.
The factory which was never finished, acrylics 100 x 200 cm, 2009
The artwork shows the waiting of a big group of people in the Soviet Union – waiting which fell by the wayside. The original factory is in the Ladoga Karelia and it was supposed to produce medicine, which there was shortage of. The artwork also shows the falling of the Soviet Union. In 1989, 20 years ago I had an exhibition in a state which does not exist any longer.
Finished waiting, 140 x 120 cm, acrylics, 2009
The artwork deals with China. Xing Yan is allowed to move from the countryside to the city, because she has a workplace there waiting for her. First she lives with her relatives but afterwards gets a place of her own.
Waiting is a broad concept. It can be physical queuing, but also an utopian dream. It can be happy or torture and fear. Short waiting time can feel long and vice versa, but in my mind waiting in general is a positive matter.
Global traffic lights, 120 x 150 cm, acrylics, 2009