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ART CENTER AHJO, KYTÖ/LIEKKI -SPACE: LAU RÄMÖ
LAU RÄMÖ, ANIMA
21.8. - 8.9.2024, KYTÖ/LIEKKI -SPACE
The visual perspective of the video work is about a primate being who empathizes with and feels what he sees: life that takes shape in relation to other organisms, the environment and the past. The views come closer, and under the skin.
The Latin term anima means moving principle, air, breath or spirit. In the work, anima means everything that is alive or sustains life. It has peculiar shapeshifting, tentacles, breathing, grasping paws, protective coloring, seafloor, empathy, photosynthesis, birdsong, sunlight, and fur.
In the associative one-channel video work that mixes stop motion animation, archival materials and video, one is at a distance and physically present at the same time. Stop motion lingers in the space between the inanimate and the animate. It is therefore also always participating in a common illusion of life. The work has its origins in the apocalyptic crisis-filled modern times and a personal need for pause, shared grief and a deeper examination of life.
Anima is a flowing, collage-like, soft and hard substance. It is the porosity and diversity of life that pushes through everything.
Lau Rämö is a media artist living and working in Helsinki. His animations often combine soft and reused materials and themes related to the shared experience of being. Rämö graduated with a Master of Arts from Aalto University in 2020 and has worked as a photo, installation and video artist since 2015.
Work on the piece has been supported by the Kone Foundation and the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
The music of the piece was composed by Martin Jäger.
