Art Center Ahjo, Sysi Hall: Aino Keinänen

Aino Keinänen's exhibition “Map on a Skin” tells about the problematic nature of land ownership and its relation to humanity. With the spread of agriculture the conquest of the land also became more common, which in turn led to an increase in violence. In her works Keinänen identifies the surface of the earth with human skin while highlighting the strong connection between man and nature.

The spark for working on this exhibition project came when she read Rutger Bregman’s “Human Kind – A Hopeful History” in which Bregman calls for a “new realism”, an open and courageous belief in human goodness. The problem is our negative view of humanity which is a self-fulfilling expectation. If we dared to believe that most people are fundamentally good it would become a new self-fulfilling expectation.

The word geometry means surveying (the land). Keinänen has extracted from geometry what she remembers best from school math lessons: the Pythagorean theorem. Its three squares of different sizes are repeated circumferentially in the works, symbolizing the growth of the conquered land. There is only emptiness left in the middle, a blind spot to the lack of goodness. The triptych “Ecce Homo Puppy” tells the story of humanity: 40,000 years ago in Europe we live quite harmoniously with each other and are able to live together even with another species of man. As models of Neanderthals and the Afarine apeman Keinänen has used photographs of reconstructions by sculptor Élisabeth Daynès. At a time when agriculture is becoming more widespread, 10,000 years ago, an imaginary group of activists launches a “Land Rebellion” in which it seeks to scrap the trend of land ownership.

There is hope if we believe in humanity and stop suppressing the love of neighbor that naturally blazes in our hearts.

Aino Keinänen is a Helsinki-based artist who graduated from the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. Her work is done on paper with a mixed technique that includes carbon, dry pastel, acrylic and ink.

www.ainokeinanen.com
Instagram: aino_k_art
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