sparrowhaunt-blog

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“Muistikuvia”-postikortit, 2 e /kpl tai 8 e /5 kpl

Vielä muutama postikorttisetti tilattavissa! Löytyy sellaisia jännyyksiä kuin:

“Joka kesä Vuorenlahdenkatu arpeutui polveeni”, 2010

“Paikka, jossa kadotin mielikuvitusystäväni”, 2010

“Jäljettömiin kadonnut maakellari”, 2012

“Vieraassa kaupungissa ajoin takaa öistä tulipaloa”, 2010

Vaihdokas palaa puutarhaan”, 2012

Kortit ovat kooltaan 13 x 13 cm, painettu Suomessa FSC-sertifioidulle kartongille. Hinta sis. ALVin 24%. Toimituskulut Suomeen 1,10 e (10 korttiin asti). Maksuvaihtoehtoina tilisiirto ja Paypal. Tilauksen voi lähettää osoitteeseen: laura.konttinen@gmail.com

Magical postcards, 2 eur per card or 8 eur for five cards

Sized 13 x 13 cm, printed in Finland on FSC certified cardstock. Place your order (and any fanmail) to laura.konttinen@gmail.com. You can pay via bank transfer or Paypal. Global shipping cost: 1,30 eur (up to 10 cards).

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My first artist residency was five years ago in Mazzano Romano, a medieval village near Rome. There was a big-headed cat king, mafia rumours and velvet fog that appeared every afternoon. After coming home, I felt as if the density of the streets, the layered architecture and the crooked lines had changed my perception forever. 

In Mazzano I experimented with preliminary ideas I would use years later, like painting on water, double exposures and using mirrors in miniatures. It was also the first time I felt concretely rewarded for anything artistic. Mazzano was the first of many applications for grants and residencies to go through. For semi-hermits like me, artist residencies with peace and quiet, the thrill of new surroundings without the pressures of networking are like a door to a magical kingdom. With the government funding slowly fading, it’s super awesome to still have foundations that offer these opportunities:

Mazzano Romano - Väinö Tannerin säätiö (haku 30.4.2016 mennessä!)

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Symbols.

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New Narrative and Reader - Taiteen uudet tarinat

now at Salo Art Museum!

http://www.finnishartagency.com/new-narrative-and-reader/

http://opisalonmuseossa.fi/teos_8/ (in Finnish)

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Making of Velvetwood Island

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My working process explained: http://www.laurakonttinen.net/makingof_lightmare.html

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A field trip to Bury Art Museum & Sculpture Centre for the installation and opening of New Narrative and Reader (open until August 29, 2015)

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New Narrative and Reader launches on Friday!

Finnish contemporary art at Bury Sculpture Centre & Art Museum, Manchester, UK!

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Coming up:

NEW NARRATIVE AND READER

a group exhibition of 15 young Finnish artists in Manchester, England, in the summer of 2015, curated by Laura Köönikkä 

6.6.–29.8.2015 / Bury Art Museum and Sculpture Centre

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One of the most interesting projects I’ve taken part in recently: FAIL / stage for abandoned art - a collection of artworks that the artists feel were failures, left unfinished or otherwise abandoned. (organized by Martins Rozenfelds)

Failure in its many forms is an integral part of my work. Especially the fear of failure is always there, as a taboo I try to avoid every day. Most of my work days basically revolve around pretending that this mental vortex doesn’t exist, or if it does, it’s somewhere far far away and doesn’t threaten to pull me in. Of course in reality I am always at the edge of the ravine. This exhibition is like a celebration to a ghost who nobody likes but who deserves a lot of credit in the artistic process.

at Vapaan Taiteen Tila / Space for Free Arts, Helsink, May 10 - 19, 2015

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Making new work AKA making you believe that lace doilies are summer clouds in disguise.

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Stamps by me and five other artists, released Jan 19th 2015!

Suomen Taiteilijaseura 150 vuotta -postimerkkivihko julkaistiin 19.1.2015, mukana myös suunnittelemani merkki!

> Postin verkkokauppa (FI)

> Suomen Taiteilijaseuran tiedote (FI)

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"Every photograph, however, is as much an aide-mémoire as a testament to loss. Each on emakes the implicit and melancholic claims that the depicted sight is preserved in spite of, and as if to underline, the disappearance of the actual referent. [...] Since all photographs present the past as absolutely unalterable, every photographic image promises momentary relief from the obligation to comprehend and remember."

Ulrich Baer, "To Give Memory a Place", in "Spectral Evidence - Photography of Trauma", 2002

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Sense of Place: Contemporary Finnish Photography exhibition is closing at Washington State University Gallery. I was interviewed a bit for the university newspaper.

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A Sense of Place: Contemporary Finnish Photography

"A Sense of Place: Contemporary Finnish Photography is a group-show of innovative, fine art photography examining the concept of place as both real and imagined."

Work by me and four other Finnish photo artists, Oct 1 - Oct 31, 2014 Washington State University Gallery II, curated by Dennis DeHart. Read more

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Some ingredients for Lightmare Island.

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Talvinen unohdelma, 2013, 40 x 50 cm, pigmenttivedos / pigment print (fotosec)

This work is from 2013 when I experimented with multiple exposures in my photographic memory constructions. 

I have realized that my work is not so much about attempts at returning, but rather about remodeling the past to make it more real and tangible for the current.