Parafest Art Exhibition in Art Center Ahjo

This year, the Parafest Art Exhibition consists of three different entities. A group exhibition by Taidepesula from Pieksämäkä, the “One Woman War” exhibition by Aino Ruoho from Joensuu, and the works of Jali Heikkinen from Kuopio.

TAIDEPESULA: About me, remember

Taidepesula, a special support art activist in Pieksämäkä, a welfare area in South Savo, was founded in 2005. Taidepesula is a space of opportunities whose studio-like art activities are attended by art enthusiasts and professionals. At Taidepesula, artists can explore and implement their creative ideas and search for their own language of creative expression using different materials and methods.

For over two decades, Taidepesula has been part of the Finnish and international art world and a network of special art activities. In 2021, Taidepesula was awarded the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s South Savo Fund Culture Prize.

The works in the group exhibition About Me, Remember have been created at Taidepesula over the past eight years. The exhibition includes paintings, drawings and sculptures. The exhibition invites us to reflect on the importance of art in communication and the dialogue between the artist and the art. Some of the artists selected for the exhibition have been making art for decades, and some have found their passion for creative work a few years ago.

About Me, Remember is a collection of stories about artists, things and moments that are important to them or that touch them. Many faces and portraits have been selected for the exhibition. Animals have also been brought to the center of the narrative. Naming things and details are meaningful and can open up a whole world to the viewer through them.

AINO RUOHO : ONE WOMAN WAR

One Woman War is a personal exhibition about the life of an autistic woman in a world where there is not always room for different ways of experiencing and being. It tells the story of the invisible battles that many people on the neuro-spectrum go through every day: the struggle to be understood, the limits of the body and the demands of the external world.

I am a professional photographer and ceramic artist. My work combines personal experience, corporeality and the exploration of identity.

One Woman War is an exploration of what happens when a person has to fight a long and often invisible war - and how art can make it visible. At the same time, it is also an attempt to speak for those who are unable or unwilling to tell their own story.

JALI HEIKKINEN

Jali Heikkinen is a 28-year-old autistic person from Kuopio.

She has come a long way from being a very careful pencil user to a painter of colorful watercolor paintings. Drawing has helped Jali calm down and concentrate since childhood. At first, the works were very small black and white drawings, but gradually she was encouraged to use colors.

Jali's working method is to draw and paint from moving images without any sketching. The works are mainly animated/animal characters. She comes up with ideas and decides on the subjects of her works independently. In addition to drawing and painting, the versatile Jali crochets, sculpts and crafts. The works are largely created in her own home in Villa Särkiniemi.

She wants to make other people happy with her handiwork. She has even made coloring books for her nieces and nephews.