Art Center Ahjo, Hiili -space: Laura Ukkonen

Art Center Ahjo, Hiili -space: Laura Ukkonen
1.11.-19.11.

"I draw a coffee cup, blinds and a beam of light. I photograph my back and transfer it to the drawing. I sit
on the living room floor, I draw myself, the corners of the room and objects in the mirror. I collect from the forest
conifer needles as a model. The character I draw merges into a part of the forest that feels like home. I will engrave
drawings on a wooden board and I print the same image over and over again."

The exhibition features woodcuts by the visual artist Laura Ukkonen, in which she observed the home and
solitude. At home, you need to be protected from prying eyes, but you can also be left there alone unintentionally.
Especially for women, the home has traditionally also been the center of social life, which must be presented to others.
Emotions can be seen in gestures, such as posture and, for example, the position of the shoulders. Drawing plants
parallels the subtle gestures of the human body. Laura Ukkonen draws moments when seemingly
nothing happens and observes the shame and confusion produced by loneliness, but also
taking of space and hope. She takes inspiration from the self-portraits of women from different eras, portraitures and home interiors, because through them the transgenerational flow of emotions opens up. What do the feelings of modern humans tell about women's history?

Laura Ukkonen (b. 1977) lives and works in Helsinki and has a degree in Science and Technology
in visual arts (2012) and visual arts education (2019) from Aalto University. She has studied
visual arts also at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris and art history at the University of Turku (HuK).
In addition to drawing and woodcuts, Laura Ukkonen makes video works and writes. latest
solo exhibitions have been at Galleria Huuto in Helsinki, Pori Art Museum's Poriginal Gallery
and at the Jyväskylä Art Museum Gallery, Ratamo. Her works are in Helsinki and Jyväskylä
in the art museum's collections and texts have been published, e.g. in the work Taidejemmoja (Children and young people
art center foundation, 2019).