ART CENTER AHJO, SYSI-HALL; ON THE GO - INTERPRETATIONS OF MOVEMENT

TIINA GEIJER, JUTTA IMAN, RIIKKA MATTINEN, TYTTI PUTKONEN, SANNI-MAARIA PUUSTINEN, ANNE RÄSÄNEN, INARI TURKKI AND ANJA TURUNEN - ON THE GO - INTERPRETATIONS OF MOVEMENT 18.6.-6.7.2025

The unifying element among the works of the eight artists featured in this exhibition is movement, interpreted individually from each artist’s perspective. The artists are also connected by their shared background in art education at the Joensuu Community College. Their works explore the theme of movement through various lenses: moments of human experience, reflections on broader networks of meaning, studies of movement via emotion or physicality, or conversely, moments where movement seems to pause.

TIINA GEIJER(b. 1978)
Geijer graduated as a visual artist from Joensuu University of Applied Sciences in 2006 and has since worked primarily as an art teacher at Joensuu Community College’s art school for children and youth since 2003. As an artist, she is particularly drawn to the boundaries between life and death, myths and mysticism tied to nature, the aesthetics of decay and destruction, and the human place in the natural world. Her preferred mediums are black-and-white analog photography and dry pastels on canvas, though many of her works incorporate mixed media techniques.

RIIKKA MATTINEN
Falls. Doesn’t Fall.
Mattinen’s ceramic figures, characterized by their round heads and swaying postures, lean in various directions. The inspiration for this diverse group came from an old plastic wobble doll that never falls over. Created between 2023–2025, these ceramic sculptures employ various types of clay, engobe coloring, underglazes, and clear glaze. The swaying characters represent people of all ages and emotional states, buffeted by life’s uncertainties.

Mattinen describes herself as a nostalgia-hungry collector, inspired by the toys, objects, visuals, and “grandma-aesthetic” of the 1970s and 1980s.
In addition to her creative work, she teaches visual arts to children and youth at Joensuu Community College and works as an art teacher at Nepenmäki Secondary School.

SANNI-MAARIA PUUSTINEN
The Return of Water
Puustinen is a visual artist and doctoral researcher at the University of Eastern Finland. She approaches the theme of movement as a cultural-ecological change seen in the interaction between humans and the environment. This type of movement is often slow, unfolding over generations as mutual shaping between humans and nature. However, accelerating environmental change has increasingly highlighted the role of humans in triggering ecological and climate crises.

In her works, Puustinen examines transformations in natural environments—particularly wetlands—affected by forestry-driven ditching and planting practices, and explores a new shift toward restoration efforts. Her works stem from themes in her doctoral research.

ANNE RÄSÄNEN
Räsänen works with mixed media. Her artworks capture small moments in life when movement has, for one reason or another, come to a halt. The presence of continuous movement becomes most apparent precisely when life forces a pause. Räsänen’s works explore the tension between movement and stillness found in such moments.

ANJA TURUNEN
In her nature-themed layered collages, Turunen explores invisible movement through form. Movement before it becomes visible is like a premonition or thought—hidden until it surfaces. She perceives this hidden movement in both nature and people.

Art Exhibition Opening:
17.6.2025 klo: 18-20