ART CENTER AHJO, Kytö/Liekki -ROOM: Terhi Ketolainen

The exhibition includes moving image works Rajapinta and BEAM as well as small photographic prints.

I stand on a rock or by the shore, in a nature reserve or its edge, and in front of me the Old Town Bay glimmers. The city is being built on the opposite shore, the skyscrapers of Kalasatama rise layer by layer. I observe more from the "nature side," but I am also mesmerized by the contrast between urban structures and nature. The contradiction is palpable, reaching deep inside me.

The Finnish Institute for the Languages Dictionary defines the term "interface" as follows:

• phys. the junction of two states of matter.
• fig. the point of intersection between two spaces, phenomena, etc.

The theme of my exhibition is the interface between the city and urban nature, this point of intersection, and its transformation over time and in the landscape.

Local politics and urban planning, as well as the interests of developers, determine how much of the landscape and nearby nature is consumed. The change in the landscape over time is staggering. Something is constantly being added, but much also gets covered up and hidden. A beloved view may soon be gone. The seasons change, the light is always different. The sound of the wind and birds mixes with the constant urban soundscape, the hum of traffic, various squeaks, crashes, and clatter. The metallic screech of the metro can be heard from several kilometers away at regular intervals.

RAJAPINTA
HD video, stereo sound, duration 12:40 min, Finland 2025

The raw material for the Rajapinta work consists of photographs I have taken over several years with a smartphone while moving through urban nature, particularly in the areas of Helsinki's Herttoniemi and Viinikkala, with the intention of casually capturing images as notes. A significant amount of material was gathered. The time span covers nearly eight years, from late 2016 when I started using the iPhone SE, to the fall of 2024 when I stopped using it.

The idea for the work began to take shape in the spring of 2024 when I went through my photos to clear space in my cloud storage. I practically noticed I had been doing some kind of visual landscape tracking, though not systematically. The approach of the work is observational and strictly chronological. The landscape is the focus, especially the growing and distant towers of Kalasatama as a focal point. People are rarely visible. It is noteworthy that the landscape and the image of the landscape are not the same. For example, the lens of the phone camera distorts distant objects, making them appear disproportionately far. Thus, the final result shows the city and the technology constructing it as more distant than they really are. Nature is emphasized.

The soundscape for the work was compiled from the audio tracks of videos I shot in the same locations, so in that sense, it is "authentic."

BEAM
HD video, stereo sound, duration 03:18 min, Finland 2024

November 2017. I stand on the shore, the rustling reeds around me. Across the shore, the city transforms, rising higher, one concrete slab at a time. The hum of traffic and the city is always present, constant and persistent. The metallic screech of the metro rings faintly from afar. The low-hanging clouds do their best to keep the sunlight at bay. Until even they must give in. For a moment, everything is gold and light.

The raw material for this work was filmed in one take with an iPhone SE in November 2017.

Photographs
37 digital photographic prints, 15 x 21 cm

ABOUT THE ARTIST
"Art is for me about capturing what cannot otherwise be expressed in a holistic way. Recently, I have been reflecting on how we look at and interpret things through our own perceptual abilities. I am interested in the presence of time and its layers, the interface between human activity and nature, the dynamics of constant change and impermanence. I primarily work by painting, but my interests sometimes lead me to explore other techniques. I give myself the freedom to experiment with different things, both stylistically and thematically. I also aim to use my background as an archaeologist and science journalist to inform the content and expression of my art. I graduated as a visual artist from Taidekoulu Maa in 2016, and I am a member of the Helsinki Artists’ Association as well as a probationary member of the Finnish Painters' Union. Originally from Joensuu, I always enjoy returning to North Karelia for work, exhibitions, and leisure."
– Terhi Ketolainen –