MUSTARINDA 2011 exhibition is over for this summer. Thank you for all the visitors and welcome next summer again!

MUSTARINDA 2011

The Great Outside

TERIKE HAAPOJA, SANNA KANNISTO, HENNI KITTI, JUSSI KIVI, PEKKA NIITTYVIRTA, OUTI PIESKI

The second annual Mustarinda summer exhibition presents topical contemporary art in the woodlands of Kainuu, next to the Paljakka Nature Reserve.

The theme of the 2011 exhibition is the experience of strangeness brought on by nature. In addition to producing feelings of familiarity and safety, nature can also challenge conventional ways of thinking. A visitor in a forest may endure an “oz-factor”, a state in which the human-nature relationship turns upside down and things are not how they seem. Also cultural and day-to-day realities can alienate us from nature, rendering it strange to us.

Our exhibition asks where does the line go between human and non-human, what is inside and what is outside? Nature changes its form continuously, both by itself and through human activity. It is good to update our perceptions of human-nature relations from time to time and to consider our conceptions of nature also as culturally constructed.

An environment existing in its natural-state can be considered “the great outside,” something for which we struggle to find the right expressions. In our minds the nature that surrounds us may seem vast, although few areas exist still untouched by us.

The artists in the Mustarinda 2011 summer exhibition study nature as an object of natural science, culture, and mythology. Many of the artworks combine the artist’s knowledge of topical questions in both science and art. They can be seen as studies of nature, as well as ways of sensing and dealing with nature.

We are happy to have been able to assemble an exhibition in the Mustarinda House by some of today’s most valued Finnish contemporary artists. Through this collection we want to support the diversity of studies on nature relations in our society.

Open June 11 – August 14, Wed-Sun 12-18. Tickets 5e, students and unemployed 3e. Rooms are available in the Mustarinda House. For more information: www.mustarinda.fi / info@mustarinda.fi / +358400655883. Address: Mustarinda, Paljakantie 61, 89400 Hyrynsalmi, Finland.

The exhibition has been supported by Finnish Cultural Foundation and Arts Council of Finland.

The Mustarinda Association preserves natural and cultural diversity by bringing together people from art, science and NGOs through discussions, exhibitions, and happenings. Mustarinda hosts an international artist-in-residence program.

Henni Kitti

Jussi Kivi

Pekka Niittyvirta, still image form video Wolves 2011 Loop (5.13 min.) 16:9 HD Video

Outi Pieski Suhpiid luhtte / Close by the Aspens, 360 x 122cm, 2009Terike Haapoja: Still image from video Untiteld (Portrait)