Ground Station
The Opening Exhibition of Mustarinda Residency at Paljakka Hill, Hyrynsalmi, Finland 18.6 -18.7. 2010
August Ahlqvist FIN, Suzanna Asp SE, Sam Basu UK, John Colenbrander NL, Olle Essvik SE, Arvid Hedin SE, Alma Heikkilä FIN, Debby Huysmans BG, Lauri Isola FIN, Pipsu Isola, FIN Ieva Kabasinskaite LT, Shoji Kato JP, Tero Kontinen FIN, Tomi Lauri FIN, Kyösti Pärkinen FIN, Jarkko Räisänen FIN , Nestori Syrjälä FIN, Laura Wesamaa FIN
Remote and isolated Mustarinda Ground Station receives a vague and disjointed signal from outer space. The transmitter of the message can’t be located, not even within the accuracy of light years. It seems impossible to interpret the message within a Newtonian frame of reference, the content is dependent on the observer and is perpetually transforming.
Ground Station calls up a group of artists, the most experienced professionals of the continuous alteration of reality, to decode the cryptic transmission. Very quickly it is clear that the signal comes simultaneously from an extreme remoteness and from very close at hand. Some investigators even locate the source of the signal in their own bodies, inside their own organic system.
Later, Ground Station is ready to make a statement about the presence of something inhuman inside our bodies. Some of the specialists name this new discovery the “unknown”, some talk about “dark matter” and some call it “nature”.
At this point the investigations turn to explore the research group and Ground Station itself. It seems that the message is clear. The problem lies in human imagination and its abstract concepts that give no position to information coming from beyond humanity. The artists begin to disentangle the abstractions and produce information from reality and its states. Understanding the basic requirements of life is suddenly more essential than creating complex technological and theoretical structures or living in simultaneous telecommunication.
The body of forests surrounding Mustarinda differs radically from the forms created by human culture. The infinite diversity of nature, which extends from a single needle of spruce to everywhere in the limitless cosmos, is almost impossible to observe or understand in the frame of the contemporary intellect.
Human activity has altered 80% of the land surface of Earth. Only small parts of human made systems are sustainable. The environmental history of human kind shows that after a relatively short bloom, the majority of our cultures end up in self-made ecological disaster and our contemporary consumerism is repeating the same paradigm. Decoding the weak signal received by Ground Station demands new logics and relativistic worldviews.
Mustarinda’s Ground Station exhibition presents works from 18 visual artists from 6 countries. The common denominator for the artists is brave and self-reliant thinking and the capability to make sharp perceptions about their working environment. Ground Station utilizes the knowledge of science, society and art in perceiving the mental and physical status of Mustarinda, Kainuu and the globe. Ground Station will serve as a launch pad for many years of exploration.
The exhibition contains site-specific installations, paintings, video works and photographs. The invited participants work in the context of international art and the majority of artists will be present in the openings. Alongside with the openings will also be organized a small forum presenting international and domestic artist run projects.
Ground Station is open 18.6-18.7 tu-su 12-18. closed Mondays. Entrance fee 5€, Students, pensioners and unemployed 3€, on 18.6 free entrance. Café. Reservations for guided tours tel. 0400-655883/ info@mustarinda.fi Some of the artists will give a talk about their work on 18.7. Address: Paljakantie 61 Hyrynsalmi