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Henna Hyvärinen

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  • Minuška, short documentary, Photo: Johanna Naukkarinen
    info

    Minuška - A solo exhibition at Titanik, Turku, Finland 7.6.–7.7.2024 showcasing an experimental short documentary series from 2022-2024 Pussycat Soup (2022), Sugar Water (2023) and Minuška (2024). Still: Minuška (Selfie, 2024, 15:48, 4K-video with stereo sound), a documentary based on a parallel-language interview with Natalia Giloeva/Hiloin Natoi, a Karelian language expert and activist on the development of Livvi-Karelian – the mother tongue of my family, which I don’t speak. Natoi works as the sole translator and newscaster for the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle in Karelian, creating contemporary words and terms to bring the endangered language up to date. Minuška (eng.Selfie)

    Minuška, short documentary, Photo: Johanna Naukkarinen, 2024
    4K-video, stereo sound, 15min 48s
  • When A Girl Wants - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Joep Truijen
    info

    Music video for When A Girl Wants - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Joep Truijen - Lyrics by Susan Kooi and Henna Hyvärinen Music produced by Torus Recorded at Red Bull Music Studio Amsterdam in 2020 Music video by Joep Truijen (CGI) and Joeri Woudstra (editing)

    When A Girl Wants - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Joep Truijen, 2024
    4K-video, animation, stereo sound, 2min 37s
  • Hic enda Thu by echo+seashell (produced by Torus and Figurine) Video directed by Trees Heil
    info

    Music video for HIC ENDA THU by echo+seashell (produced by Torus and Figurine) Video directed by Trees Heil (2024) - Sample from Time (2001) by Figurine Lyrics by Henna Hyvärinen and Susan Kooi Mixed by Samuli Tanner - Camera and editing: Trees Heil Costumes: Maxivive, echo+seashell Lighting design: Luke van Wijk Assistant: Lejla Verheus - Title design: Lizzy Jongedijk Postproduction: Henna Hyvärinen Video produced by echo+seashell - Recorded at de Roode Bioscoop in Amsterdam - Hic Enda Thu EP, Minna Records, 2024

    Hic enda Thu by echo+seashell (produced by Torus and Figurine) Video directed by Trees Heil , 2024
    HD-video, stereo sound, 2min 8s
  • Sugar Water, short documentary, collection of stills
    info

    Screenshots from Pussycat Soup (2022,13:50) and Zuaharivetty/Sugar Water (2023,11:40), both 4K-video and digital animation with stereo sound The completed series can be accessed online by contacting the artist.

    Sugar Water, short documentary, collection of stills, 2023
    4K-video, digital animation, stereo sound, 11min 40s
  • echo+seashell (Susan Kooi and Henna Hyvärinen) portrayed by Lukas Malte Hoffmann
    info

    echo+seashell after their performance at W139, Amsterdam, October 2023. Nails by Piet Langeveld Photo: Lukas Malte Hoffmann

    echo+seashell (Susan Kooi and Henna Hyvärinen) portrayed by Lukas Malte Hoffmann , 2023
    Performance, 20min
  • Pussycat Soup, short documentary
    info

    Pussycat Soup A solo exhibition at Outo Olo (Helsinki, October 2022) displaying the first part of the documentary series, Pussycat Soup (13:50, 2022, 4K-video with stereo sound) exploring themes of mother-daughter relationships, the interviewee’s identity as an Orthodox Karelian and her thoughts on cultural revival, as well as intergenerational trauma, love, feminism, discomfort and something lost in translation.

    Pussycat Soup, short documentary, 2022
    4K-video, stereo sound, 13min 50s
  • Sorbus: Wasted Years - Sad, sexy, and artist-run
    info

    Wasted Years - Sad, sexy, and artist-run A printed publication edited by the artist-run space Sorbus, published in August 2020. From the perspective of the small northern art space, it opens up a view of art, artist work, and self-organised artist-run initiatives in the 2010s, and outlines ways to approach exhibiting art in the future. The publication includes texts from a number of artists and writers, and was published by Khaos Publishing. Pages: 192, Measures: 220 x 305 mm, Language: English, Graphic design: Tsto More information: https://www.sorbus.fi/wasted-years/

    Sorbus: Wasted Years - Sad, sexy, and artist-run , 2020
    Co-editor, Publication, 192 pages
  • Photo by Franz Mueller Schmidt
    info

    Henna portrayed with her work at De Ateliers, Once a Closely Guarded Secret, Amsterdam, Offspring 2019

    Photo by Franz Mueller Schmidt, 2019
    Fabric, bleach , Dimensions variable
  • Once a Closely Guarded Secret, De Ateliers Offspring show 2019
    info

    Once a Closely Guarded Secret De Ateliers Offspring show 2019 curated by Martin Herbert, De Ateliers, Amsterdam 25.05-10.06.2019 Video installation with bleached and dyed fabric (dimensions variable) and HD-video with sound (Horcrux, 2019, continuous loop 12:09 min) Photo: Franz Mueller Schmidt

    Once a Closely Guarded Secret, De Ateliers Offspring show 2019 , 2019
    Mixed media, Dimensions variable
  • Tender Keys/Muddy Tongues
    info

    Tender Keys/Muddy Tongues A performance commissioned by Spring Performance Festival Amsterdam

    Tender Keys/Muddy Tongues , 2019
    Performance, 20min15s
  • Root Canal: Every Loft Needs a Sink
    info

    Every Loft Needs a Sink A group show curated by Root Canal (Anders Dickson, Frieder Haller, Henna Hyvärinen, Thomas Swinkels), Vleeshal, Middelburg (NL) 14.7.-15.9.2019 A group exhibition encapsulated in five wooden attics doubling the original location of Rootcanal's art space in Amsterdam. Originally used as storage, attic space was affordable and often rented by artists as studios and homes. Over time, the attic - or loft - has slipped into an interesting discourse of economic interest, with tight square meters of multi-layered memory. Artists: Lauri Ainala, Susan Cianciolo, Keren Cytter, Catharine Czudej, Jacob Dwyer, Manuela Gernedel & Fiona Mackay, Hanna-Maria Hammari, Niklas Taleb, Madelon Vriesendorp. Photo: Franz Mueller Schmidt

    Root Canal: Every Loft Needs a Sink, 2019
    Co-curating, multidisplinary, variable
  • Root Canal: Roots on Wheels
    info

    Roots on Wheels A group show curated by Root Canal driving around the town during the Amsterdam Art Weekend in November 2018. The camper van was parked in several hotspots and empty parking lots with works from Benedikte Bjerre, Buck Ellison, Chris Evans, Olga Pedan, Julika Rudelius, Angharad Williams and Betty Sachs. See full documentation and listen to car radio program: http://rootcanal.eu/ Photo: Frieder Haller

    Root Canal: Roots on Wheels, 2018
    Co-curating, multidisplinary, variable
Hyvärinen’s film positions itself as something genuinely peripheral, even uncomfortable, and in so doing illuminates the clandestine conventionalism of contemporary art, which seems like a space of freedom but is actually largely conservative – as is visible when an artist, as here, scrambles its codes and refuses its easy satisfactions. - Martin Herbert, curator, Once a Closely Guarded Secret, De Ateliers, 2019
Henna Hyvärinen (FI) is an artist using sound, video, performance and text to create auto-fictional narratives that examine and question the ways in which power structures, gender, sexuality and socio-economic backgrounds shape one’s identity. She uses humour and her interest in the absurd to get closer to themes that otherwise might feel uncomfortable or eerie. Alongside her individual art practice Hyvärinen is part of a feministic music performance duo echo+seashell (with Susan Kooi, 2011-) and an artist-run space (2013-2020) and collective Sorbus in Helsinki. She holds an MFA from the Time and Space department from the University of the Arts Helsinki, and was a participant at De Ateliers- residency program in Amsterdam in 2017-2019 where she co-founded Root Canal, a nomadic artist initiative with three other fellow residents (2018-). Her previous exhibitions, performances and collective work have been shown at Cabaret Voltaire, Manifesta11 (Zurich), Jupiter Woods (London), Moderna Museet/Mejan Bar (Stockholm), Cité internationale des arts (Paris), Banff Centre (Banff), KW Institute for Contemporary Art/Pogo Bar (Berlin), Kiasma Museum for Contemporary Art, Helsinki Kunsthalle and SIC-gallery in Helsinki, Vleeshal (Middelburg), Culture Centre Marres (Maastricht), De Appel Arts Centre, Kunstverein, W139, Concert hall Paradiso and De Ateliers in Amsterdam.

Collaboration

echo+seashell, Root Canal, Sorbus

Websites

Website of gallery Titanik (FI), press release of my solo show (2024)

www.titanik.fi/hyvarinen/

Website of echo+seashell, performance duo together with Susan Kooi

www.echoseashell.com/

Website of Root Canal, artistic-curatorial collective, together with Anders Dickson, ­Frieder Haller and Thomas Swinkels

rootcanal.eu/

Works in Finnish National gallery database

www.kansallisgalleria.fi/en/object/5950145

Social media

www.instagram.com/hyvarinen_henna/?locale=en
www.instagram.com/echoplusseashell/
music.apple.com/us/artist/echo-seashell/1729801975
open.spotify.com/artist/3xQBkP0swR75QDGbMnNy2f

Member of Artists’ Initiative/Collective/Incubator

echo + seashell (2011-), Root Canal (2018-), Sorbus (2013-2021)

Curriculum vitae

Education

  • 2017 - 2019
    Independent artists' institute Amsterdam, De Ateliers
  • 2013 - 2013
    Performance art study module 6 months University of the Arts Helsinki, Theater Academy
  • 2012 - 2012
    Erasmus exchange (6 months) Moving image Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
  • 2012 - 2013
    KUNO-Nordplus exchange (6 months) Fine Arts Royal Institute of Art in Stockholm
  • 2012 - 2014
    MFA Master of Fine Arts, Moving Image University of the Arts Helsinki diploma
  • 2008 - 2012
    BFA Bachelor of Fine Arts, Moving Image Finnish academy of fine arts Helsinki diploma

exhibitions

  • 2026
    Henna Hyvärinen x Saemundur Thor Helgason PUNT WG Amsterdam, Netherlands Duo exhibition of Henna Hyvärinen and Saemundur Thor Helgason, 24.03-20.04.2026 puntwg.nl/ Duo
  • 2024
    Les jours intimes Van Doesburghuis Meudon, Paris, France Les jours intimes, a weekend full of art, poetry, talks and performances at the Van Doesburg House (Meudon, Paris) organised and curated by the artist-in-residency Petra Noordkamp. Participating artists: Afra Eisma, Barbara Visser, echo+seashell, Isabelle Sully + Marja Bloem, Giulia Damiani, Petra Noordkamp, Riet van der Linden, Ruta Butkute + Yurie Umamoto, Ruth van Beek, Saar Scheerlings and Zoë Dankert. vandoesburghuis.com/en/ Group
  • 2024
    Minuška Titanik-gallery Helsinki, Finland Minuška is an exhibition that concludes an experimental autobiographical documentary series exploring the daily life of my Orthodox-Karelian family. The three videoworks on display dive into the legacy of people who fled the Ladoga Karelia region, which was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1939-40, and dispersed to various parts of Finland today. What does it mean to be Karelian, and how is it reflected in their everyday lives in Finland today? What is the status and future prospects of Karelian culture as seen by the different generations of Karelians themselves? Combining moving image, chromakey editing, animation, interviews and narrative text, the video triptych is my first work utilising Liygi, a form of Karelian language spoken by my family. Each episode examines one protagonist: Pussycat soup (2022) explores themes of mother-daughter relationships, the interviewee’s identity as an Orthodox Karelian and her thoughts on cultural revival, as well as intergenerational trauma, love, feminism, discomfort and something lost in translation. The second part of the series, Zuaharivetty (Sugar Water, 2023) is based on conversations with the eldest Liygi-speaking family member, who shares his personal experiences of immigrating from Ladoga Karelia, his place of birth. The work documents his coming-of-age memories as a Karelian in post-war Finland, his love for dancing and horse sports, and outlines the dynamics between the Karelian and ‘local’ communities today. Minuška (Selfie, 2024) is based on a parallel-language interview with Natalia Giloeva, a Karelian language expert, teacher, translator and researcher, about the development of Livvi-Karelian – the mother tongue of my family, which I do not speak. Giloeva (Hiloin Natoi) is also the only translator and newscaster currently working for the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle in Karelian. The third episode (Minuška) which premieres at Titanik, is a road trip to the heart of Karelian studies – a deep dive through a tongue that mirrors the far-reaching effects of assimilation in me as the author of this series. www.titanik.fi/hyvarinen/ Solo
  • 2024
    Feels like home- Finnish National gallery collection exhibition KIASMA Museum for Contemporary Art Helsinki Helsinki, Finland The exhibition showcasing works from the Finnish National Gallery collection, leads the audience into the themes of home and belonging. Feels Like Home exhibition reflects on the theme of home and belonging through contemporary art. Belonging is linked to identity – to who we are and where we come from. The featured artworks show that home can be a physical place, a community, or a state of mind. Home can also be found in a language or culture. But how does it feel not to belong? The exhibition shares experiences of how it feels when home is lost or far away, whether by choice or force of circumstance. War and exile can sever ties with loved ones and beloved places. Loss and longing can be passed down through generations. As the artworks show, individual experiences are intertwined with social change and broader historical events. kiasma.fi/en/exhibitions/feels-like-home/ Group
  • 2023
    Who can afford to not sell their own skin? W139 Amsterdam, Netherlands Screening, Dead Skin Cash Six artists are invited to react to the prompt “Who can afford to not sell their own skin?” by curating a playlist of visual and audio materials for this weekly screening program. w139.nl/en/event/screening-jay-tan/ Group
  • 2023
    Closing event, W139 hosts… 2023 W139 Amsterdam , Netherlands During this evening, we will celebrate the 7 weeks of artistic experimentation, and the makers, participants and visitors that we welcomed in our space. The closing event will feature an exciting performance from the static yet dynamic duo echo+seashell, performing a live set of two new songs produced by musician Torus and their music videos. w139.nl/en/event/w139-hosts-closing-event/ Group
  • 2023
    Näkypaikka Kunsthalle Kohta Helsinki, Finland Exhibition gathers five active Finnish artists, of whom two currently live and work in other European countries. The curatorial point of departure was a hunch that these artists might have something in common, and that Kohta could be turned into a ‘vision-portal’ to other realities – hidden or suppressed, imagined or engineered – and an ‘action-space’ that artists can subvert and twist to their own needs – visual, narrative or both. kohta.fi/exhibition/nakypaikka/ Group
  • 2023
    Film screening series CITÉ INTERNATIONALE DES ARTS Paris, France Film screening series by current residents. Screened work: Pussycat Soup (2022) www.citedesartsparis.net/ Group
  • 2022
    Rootcanal: I’ll Never be a Star I’ve Always Been the Moon KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin, Germany Co-curator, editor: Fourteen artists, musicians and writers were invited to contribute to the mix tape I’ll Never be a Star I’ve Always Been the Moon, initiated by the artist collective Root Canal. As a constructive answer to the difficulties of organizing physical exhibitions in the past year, the mix tape is recorded on classic tape cassettes, which are sent out to potential listeners and bring a group exhibition to their homes. Every contributor received carte blanche for the content of their recording, with the sole restriction that it could not be longer than 5 minutes. The resulting mix tape is in an eclectic amalgam of contributions ranging from spoken word to noise poetry to dream interpretations, alternated among others with Finnish rap, garage punk and cover songs. Contributing artists: Yong Xiang Li, Elif Saydam, Kuupuu featuring Draama-Helmi, echo+seashell featuring Torus, Luzie Meyer, Manuela Gernedel, Nicolas Ceccaldi, Michiel Huijben, No Ice!!!, TRJJ, Vittorio Brodmann, Lonely Boys, VE holdings featuring Sakeul and Mona Varichon, Zoë d’Hont. www.kw-berlin.de/en/pogo-bar-podcast-root-canal/ Group
  • 2022
    Rootcanal: I’ll Never be a Star I’ve Always Been the Moon P/////AKT platform for contemporary art Amsterdam , Netherlands Exhibition at PAKTSALON with event celebrating the mixtape. Curated by Rootcanal (Anders Dickson, Frieder Haller, Henna Hyvärinen and Thomas Swinkels) Participating artists: Yong Xiang Li, Elif Saydam, Kuupuu featuring Draama-Helmi, echo+seashell featuring Torus, Luzie Meyer, Manuela Gernedel, Nicolas Ceccaldi, Michiel Huijben, No Ice!!!, TRJJ, Vittorio Brodmann, Lonely Boys, VE holdings featuring Sakeul and Mona Varichon, Zoë d’Hont www.pakt.nu/2022/root-canal-ill-never-be-a-star-ive-always-been-the-moon/ Group
  • 2022
    Pussycat Soup Outo Olo -gallery Helsinki, Finland Pussycat Soup is an exhibition that features a fifteen minute autobiographical documentary bearing the same title, for which I have been following and documenting my mother's daily activities for the last couple of years, and talking with her about her heritage as a person born into an Orthodox-Karelian family. Her family fled and dispersed to different parts of Finland from the area of Lake Ladoga (Ladoga Karelia), which was ceded to the Soviet Union between 1939–40. This is the first in my series of video works that deal with Orthodox Karelian cultural backgrounds from the perspectives of members of the first, second, and third generations. Each work has a different style and function and focuses on one person. This first part touches on subjects such as documenting intergenerational trauma (suppression), endangered languages, emigration, mother-daughter relationships, feminism, love, awkwardness, and some sort of lost-in-translation-ness. outo.space/pussycat-soup/ Solo
  • 2022
    Salon Hang 24/7 KUNSTVEREIN Amsterdam, Netherlands Participation (presented by Roos Gortzak/Vleeshal) in biennial Salon Hang, organised by KUNSTVEREIN at Botanical Gardens, Amsterdam www.e-flux.com/announcements/398874/salon-hang-24-7/ Group
  • 2021
    Death to the Curator Kunsthall Oslo Oslo, Norway A collaboration with 15 artist-run initiatives from the Nordic region, plus one from Addis Ababa. The project consists of a public exhibition of newly commissioned and existing works—large-scale silkscreen prints, sculptures, textiles, video, performance—as well as an installation of Unboxing – the Goodiepal collection and the launch of an ambitious publication with contributions from all of the collaborators plus additional texts. Participants: Alta Art Space, Bananskolen & Goodiepal, Gize, hangmenProjects, Khartoum Contemporary Art Center, Kling & Bang, Manège, Podium, Skogen, Small Projects, SORBUS, Sydhavn Station, Tenthaus, Third Space, Vandaler forening, Vermilion Sands kunsthalloslo.no/?p=11601&lang=en Group
  • 2020
    Spare yank'd capstone Bologna CC Amsterdam, Netherlands Group exhibition organised by Ivan Cheng. Participating artists: Wiebe Bouwsema, Bronte Dow, Henna Hyvärinen, Sophie Lee, Ceel Mogami de Haas, Kristoffer Zeiner bologna.cc/ Group
  • 2020
    MÁSCARAS (MASKS) GALERIA MUNICIPAL DO PORTO Porto, Portugal Group exhibition curated by João Laia (chief curator of exhibitions at Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art) and Valentinas Klimašauskas (curator and writer, co-curator of the Latvian Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale, 2019). As a symptom of a time of extreme change, masking techniques have gained a renewed traction and urgency, materialising in a number of guises. From online avatars used for activism, entertainment or propaganda, to different dynamics that empty or occupy our streets, our everyday ritualised life is now filled with practices of caricature, camouflage, disguise, face-swapping, masquerade, mimicry, protection, ridicule, social makeup and transformation, among others. Participating artists: Caroline Achaintre, Bora Akinciturk, Evgeny Antufiev, Jakub Choma, Joana da Conceição, Adam Christensen, echo + seashell (Henna Hyvärinen and Susan Kooi), Justin Fitzpatrick, David Hall, Kiluanji Kia Henda, Sidsel Meineche Hansen, Elena Narbutaitė, Joanna Piotrowska, Adrian Piper, Laure Prouvost, Jacolby Satterwhite, Cindy Sherman, Victoria Sin, Jonathan Uliel Saldanha, The Dazzle Club, Amalia Ulman www.galeriamunicipaldoporto.pt/en/historico/2020/mascaras-masks-2020/ Group
  • 2019
    Dovetail II CORDOVA Barcelona, Spain Group exhibition including Wild is the Wind (2019), film by Sorbus-collective (Otto Byström, Henna Hyvärinen, Jonna Karanka, Mika Palonen, Sakari Tervo, Tuomo Tuovinen) cordova.world/ Group
  • 2019
    20th Anniversary of MARRES Marres, House for Contemporary Culture Maastricht, Netherlands 20th Anniversary of MARRES Event with performance by echo + seashell (Henna Hyvärinen and Susan Kooi) marres.org/ Group
  • 2019
    Let me be your fantasy KIASMA Museum for Contemporary Art Helsinki Helsinki, Finland Let me be your fantasy is a variety show & a feminist latenight show. Delta Venus- group has invited f.ex drag, burlesque, voguing and contemporary artists to make their performance fantasies come true. Performances by: Illuminatrix, Helena Lindgren, Sophia Wekesa, Amanda & Lydia, Slutartists, echo+seashell (Henna Hyvärinen and Susan Kooi), and many more. The evening will be hosted by Liv Versace (Sara Melleri) and Claudia Versace (Markku Haussila). www.saramelleri.com/news/letmebeyourfantasy Group
  • 2019
    Offspring 2019: Once a Closely Guarded Secret De Ateliers Amsterdam, Netherlands The 14th edition of Offspring, curated by Martin Herbert: Once a Closely Guarded Secret Participating artists: Gabrielė Adomaitytė, Anders Dickson, Eulàlia Garcia Valls, Inas Halabi, Frieder Haller, Henna Hyvärinen, Clémence de La Tour du Pin, Rustan Söderling, Thomas Swinkels, Dieke Venema Offspring 2019’s title Once a Closely Guarded Secret speaks to the conditions of creating art over a period of time within a postgraduate institution, in the cloister of one’s studio and the specific developmental atmosphere of De Ateliers. With regard to the participants in Offspring 2019, it might frequently be seen to reflect aspects of private and inner life, whether esoteric or political or reflecting the predations of technology; and to mark a moment when the program itself turns its face to the public. More widely, it serves as a summa of the twisting journey that all art makes, from the artist’s mind—the unconscious, even—to the viewer: a movement, that is, from figurative darkness to light. www.de-ateliers.nl/event/offspring-2019-once-a-closely-guarded-secret/ Group

Projects

  • 2025
    Feels Like Home - works from the Finnish National Gallery collection Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki Helsinki, Finland kiasma.fi/en/exhibitions/feels-like-home/ Feels Like Home exhibition reflects on the theme of home and belonging through contemporary art. Belonging is linked to identity – to who we are and where we come from. The featured artworks show that home can be a physical place, a community, or a state of mind. Home can also be found in a language or culture. But how does it feel not to belong? The exhibition shares experiences of how it feels when home is lost or far away, whether by choice or force of circumstance. War and exile can sever ties with loved ones and beloved places. Loss and longing can be passed down through generations. As the artworks show, individual experiences are intertwined with social change and broader historical events. Home and belonging are important topics of discussion in today’s Finland. Many of us are touched on a personal level by migrations and diasporic transitions. Finland has grown more diverse, and Finnish artists, too, come from a growing variety of cultural backgrounds. A museum is a place for coming together and understanding each other, and art can offer a means of understanding the past and imagining the future. The artworks featured in this exhibition are from the collections of the Finnish National Gallery.
  • 2024
    Minuška Titanik-gallery Turku, Finland www.titanik.fi/hyvarinen/ Minuška is an exhibition that concludes an experimental autobiographical documentary series exploring the daily life of my Orthodox-Karelian family. The three videoworks on display dive into the legacy of people who fled the Ladoga Karelia region, which was ceded to the Soviet Union in 1939-40, and dispersed to various parts of Finland today. What does it mean to be Karelian, and how is it reflected in their everyday lives in Finland today? What is the status and future prospects of Karelian culture as seen by the different generations of Karelians themselves? Combining moving image, chromakey editing, animation, interviews and narrative text, the video triptych is my first work utilising Liygi, a form of Karelian language spoken by my family. Each episode examines one protagonist: Pussycat soup (2022) explores themes of mother-daughter relationships, the interviewee’s identity as an Orthodox Karelian and her thoughts on cultural revival, as well as intergenerational trauma, love, feminism, discomfort and something lost in translation. The second part of the series, Zuaharivetty (Sugar Water, 2023) is based on conversations with the eldest Liygi-speaking family member, who shares his personal experiences of immigrating from Ladoga Karelia, his place of birth. The work documents his coming-of-age memories as a Karelian in post-war Finland, his love for dancing and horse sports, and outlines the dynamics between the Karelian and ‘local’ communities today. Minuška (Selfie, 2024) is based on a parallel-language interview with Natalia Giloeva, a Karelian language expert, teacher, translator and researcher, about the development of Livvi-Karelian – the mother tongue of my family, which I do not speak. Giloeva (Hiloin Natoi) is also the only translator and newscaster currently working for the Finnish Broadcasting Company Yle in Karelian. The third episode (Minuška) which premieres at Titanik, is a road trip to the heart of Karelian studies – a deep dive through a tongue that mirrors the far-reaching effects of assimilation in me as the author of this series. Karelian is the closest related language to Finnish, and was only recognised as a non-regional minority language in Finland in 2009. However, the endangered language is not mentioned in any Finnish legal text and Finnish Karelians lack legal rights to their own language and culture.
  • 2024
    When A Girl Wants - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Joep Truijen echo+seashell (Susan Kooi and Henna Hyvärinen) Amsterdam, Den Haag, Netherlands www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVlV3E9cWC4 Music video: When A Girl Wants - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Joep Truijen
  • 2024
    Heresy - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Sophie Lee echo+seashell (Susan Kooi and Henna Hyvärinen) Amsterdam, Den Haag , Netherlands www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWOn_qJ5JTc Music video: Heresy - echo + seashell feat. Torus - Video by Sophie Lee
  • 2021
    Pogo Bar Podcast: Root Canal I'll Never be a Star I've Always Been the Moon KW Institute for Contemporary Art Berlin / Online, Germany www.kw-berlin.de/en/pogo-bar-podcast-root-canal/ Fourteen artists, musicians and writers were invited to contribute to the mix tape I’ll Never be a Star I’ve Always Been the Moon (60min), initiated by the artist collective Root Canal. As a constructive answer to the difficulties of organizing physical exhibitions in the past year, the mix tape is recorded on classic tape cassettes, which are sent out to potential listeners and bring a group exhibition to their homes. Every contributor received carte blanche for the content of their recording, with the sole restriction that it could not be longer than 5 minutes. The resulting mix tape is in an eclectic amalgam of contributions ranging from spoken word to noise poetry to dream interpretations, alternated among others with Finnish rap, garage punk and cover songs. Contributing artists: Yong Xiang Li, Elif Saydam, Kuupuu featuring Draama-Helmi, echo+seashell featuring Torus, Luzie Meyer, Manuela Gernedel, Nicolas Ceccaldi, Michiel Huijben, No Ice!!!, TRJJ, Vittorio Brodmann, Lonely Boys, VE holdings featuring Sakeul and Mona Varichon, Zoë d’Hont Root Canal consists of the artists Anders Dickson, Frieder Haller, Henna Hyvärinen and Thomas Swinkels. In 2017, they started their exhibition practice in an attic in the east of Amsterdam where the four lived together. Upon leaving their attic space, the initiative has continued to exist nomadically. They curated exhibitions in various unofficial but invaluable exhibition spaces locations, such as a camper van, bedrooms, a gallery basement, as well as at the Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Middelburg, NL.
  • 2020
    Wasted Years - Sad, sexy, and artist-run Khaos Publishing Helsinki, Finland www.sorbus.fi/ Wasted Years – Sad, sexy, and artist-run is a printed publication edited by the artist-run space Sorbus, published in August 2020. From the perspective of the small northern art space, it opens up a view of art, artist work, and self-organised artist-run initiatives in the 2010s, and outlines ways to approach exhibiting art in the future. The publication includes texts from a number of artists and writers, and was published by Khaos Publishing. Sorbus gallery was an art space operating in Helsinki from 2013 to 2019. It was run by six artists who wanted to fight against their own paralysis, create conditions for the kind of doing they felt was lacking in their environment, generate concrete experiences of alternative approaches for themselves and other artists, and thus put activism into practice in the art field. During the extensive artistic project, the ripe vapours of Sorbus wafted far beyond the gallery walls, and the working group got the opportunity to collaborate with some 300 artist colleagues and others involved in art in different ways. Whatever Sorbus is has evolved from these encounters. Accordingly, the Wasted Years publication is also made up of many voices: it includes 16 contributions from writers, artists, friends and acquaintances—people who, in one way or another, have influenced Sorbus. In addition, the publication includes excerpts from email interviews with artists; photographs of exhibitions and events; as well as other dank archive material. Edited by Sorbus (Otto Byström, Henna Hyvärinen, Jonna Karanka, Mika Palonen, Sakari Tervo, Tuomo Tuovinen) 192 pages Language: English isbn 978-952-68478-5-6 Publisher: Khaos Publishing, 2020 Wasted Years includes commissioned texts by: Pauliina Haasjoki, Lukas Malte Hoffmann & Susan Kooi, Juho Hänninen, Vappu Jalonen, Veera Jussila, Steph Kretowicz, Kim (Kaino) Modig, Eva Neklyaeva, Jyrki Nissinen, nynnyt, Jaakko Pallasvuo, Mikko Piispa, Cory John Scozzari, Sini Silveri, Megan Snowe, and Mervi Vuorela
  • 2019
    Every Loft Needs a Sink Vleeshal, Middelburg Middelburg, Netherlands vleeshal.nl/en/archive/every-loft-needs-a-sink Every Loft Needs a Sink is a group show curated by Root Canal (Anders Dickson, Frieder Haller, Henna Hyvärinen, Thomas Swinkels) exhibiting works from artists Lauri Ainala, Susan Cianciolo, Keren Cytter, Catharine Czudej, Jacob Dwyer, Manuela Gernedel & Fiona Mackay, Hanna-Maria Hammari, Niklas Taleb and Madelon Vriesendorp. The artist collective Root Canal met in 2017 at a two year residency De Ateliers and moved to the same apartment in Amsterdam. They started their exhibition practice in their attic. Upon leaving their apartment, the initiative has embraced a nomadic identity. For the exhibition at Vleeshal, Root Canal explored the weird terrain between varying systems of how information, ­objects and memories are categorized. This is elicited in the act of rebuilding the original Root Canal exhibition space: a group of life-sized attic spaces hovered in the late Gothic architecture of Vleeshal. The indexing of objects and data is demonstrated in the way that individual artists and positions inhabit the attic space; thus illustrating these differing ­methods and characteristics. Over time the attic—or loft—has slipped into an interesting discourse for economic consideration. Originally used as ­storage, the attic was affordable and often rented by artists as studios and homes. Accompanying the gentrification and rising number of people moving to the city, the attic gradually transitioned from undesirable to luxurious. Today the idea of the ­studio loft is ­synonymous with what we ­envision as a fancy living situation in a busy city. In homage to their first site, Root Canal aimed to utilize the attic space through the reconstructed versions of it as a ­psychic substitute for the mind. In Vleeshal, the participating artists were partitioned into both solo and group presentations. Looking to Gaston Bachelard’s writing on the appearance of the attic in dreams, it is recognized as the seat of enlightenment and perhaps also as a collective consciousness. By further consideration of its use again in the waken life as a recess or cavity in the house-body, it functions more as a niche for secrets, and a place to protect treasured items. Further still, could it not also be the location where manifestations of psychologically repressed experiences appear? Review: https://www.moussemagazine.it/magazine/every-loft-needs-sink-vleeshal-middelburg-francesco-tenaglia-2019/ Website of the collective: https://rootcanal.eu/

International exchanges/Residencies

  • 2023
    Cite Internationale des Arts, Paris, FR Paris , France International artist residency www.citedesartsparis.net/
  • 2014
    Artist in Residency bij Hotel Maria Kapel, Hoorn, Nederland Hoorn , Netherlands Artist residency at Hotel Maria Kapel in Hoorn NL www.hotelmariakapel.nl/

Sales/Works in collections

  • 2024
    Sugar Water (2023) m of Contemporary Art Kiasma Helsinki Helsinki, Finland Short film Link: https://www.kansallisgalleria.fi/en/object/5950145
  • 2024
    Minuška / Selfie (2024) m of Contemporary Art Kiasma Helsinki Helsinki, Finland Short film https://www.kansallisgalleria.fi/en/object/5950140
  • 2023
    Pussycat Soup (2022) Finnish National Gallery Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma Helsinki Helsinki, Finland Short film Link: https://www.kansallisgalleria.fi/en/object/3623864
  • 2018
    Tender Keys/Muddy Tongues (Bikini), 2018 Vleeshal Center for Contemporary Art, Editions 2018 Middelburg, Nederland Fabric sculpture Link: https://vleeshal.nl/shop/tender-keys-muddy-tongues-bikini-work

Publications

  • 2024
    Feels Like Home, A Museum of Contemporary Art Helsinki Publication 180 / 2024 Catalog Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma Carmen Baltzar, Leevi Haapala, Saara Hacklin, Saara Karhunen, Satu Oksanen & Irina Poleshchuk Helsinki, Finland museoshop.fi/en/collections/feels-like-home-collection-exhibition/products/kuin-kotonaan-feels-like-home?_fid=3f7a80234&_pos=1&_ss=c Catalogue for Feels Like Home - collection exhibition at Kiasma Helsinki 12.1.2024 – 12.1.2025 This exhibition catalogue explores notions of home and belonging in contemporary art. Where does our sense of home come from, and what is it that makes us feel like we belong? What happens when that feeling is characterised by contradiction?
  • 2021
    MÁSCARAS (MASKS) Book Mousse publishing João Laia and Valentinas Klimašauskas Porto, Portugal www.galeriamunicipaldoporto.pt/EN/edicoes/mascaras-masks/ Book published as part of the Máscaras (Masks) group show. The exhibition project, curated by João Laia and Valentinas Klimašauskas, focused on the role of masks throughout history, materialized in the works of twenty-one artists.
  • 2021
    Death to the Curator Book Kunsthall Oslo Alta Art Space, Bananskolen & Goodiepal, Gize, hangmenProjects, Khartoum Contemporary Art Center, Kling & Bang, Manège, Podium, Skogen, Small Projects, Sorbus, Sydhavn Station, Tenthaus, Third Space, Vandaler forening, Vermilion Sands Oslo, Norway kunsthalloslo.no/?p=11601&lang=en DEATH TO THE CURATOR – Artist-run culture in the Nordic region Edited by Kunsthall Oslo, 201 pages ISBN 978-82-690658-5-5
  • 2020
    Wasted Years – Sad, sexy, and artist-run Book Khaos Publishing Sorbus collective, Pauliina Haasjoki, Lukas Malte Hoffmann & Susan Kooi, Juho Hänninen, Vappu Jalonen, Veera Jussila, Steph Kretowicz, Kim (Kaino) Modig, Eva Neklyaeva, Jyrki Nissinen, nynnyt, Jaakko Pallasvuo, Mikko Piispa, Cory John Scozzari, Sini Silve Helsinki, Finland www.khaospublishing.com/wasted-years Wasted Years – Sad, sexy, and artist-run is a printed publication edited by the artist-run space Sorbus, published in August 2020. From the perspective of the small northern art space, it opens up a view of art, artist work, and self-organised artist-run initiatives in the 2010s, and outlines ways to approach exhibiting art in the future.
  • 2019
    Once a Closely Guarded Secret, De Ateliers Offspring 2019 Catalog De Ateliers Martin Herbert Amsterdam , Netherlands www.de-ateliers.nl/event/offspring-2019-once-a-closely-guarded-secret/ Annual Exhibition Catalogue, Spring 2019

reviews

Awards and grants

  • 2024
    Project grant, Films and media art  AVEK Audiovisual Centre Finland  Helsinki, Finland Project grant for experimental short documentary  
  • 2021
    Upstream: Music x Design   Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie  Rotterdam , Netherlands W.A.G.Σ. is a project between music artists echo + seashell and digital creators Joep Truijen and Joeri Woudstra. The project aims to question the perception of the female body in a musical context. 
  • 2021
    Grants for artists  Kone Foundation  Helsinki, Netherlands Kone Foundation Scholarship for individual artistic work, 3 years 

Secondary art-related activities

  • 2021 - 2021
    Conference speaker, Collectivity and Context for Action/On artist-run culture in the Nordic region, Kunsthall Oslo
  • 2020 - 2020
    Co-editor, Sorbus collective: Wasted Years – Sad, sexy and artist-run -publication (Khaos Publishing), 192 pages. https://www.khaospublishing.com/wasted-years
  • 2020 - 2020
    Essay God was here - Views on Art, Competition and Community, together with Tuomo Tuovinen, the Union of Finnish Art critics
  • 2013 - 2020
    Sorbus-gallery, co-curator and member of artist collective in Helsinki, together with Otto Byström, Jonna Karanka, Mika Palonen, Sakari Tervo, Tuomo Tuovinen. www.sorbus.fi
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