ON THE BORDER – Jenni Hanhilammi, Petra Kuntsi and Mailis Saralehto

Jenni Hanhilammi, Petra Kuntsi and Mailis Saralehto Final project exhibition of the Pori Art School, class IV.
Pori Art Museum Project Room 12.1.-13.2.2000

These young women started their art studies at the Pori Art School as evening students. Now, after more than four years, they are graduating from a vocationally oriented day school. The change they have experienced in their studies has also been a significant change in the training of artists at the Pori Art School. The planned transition of four to five years to a vocational art school is a common recent history.

Change and a certain degree of uncertainty are essential phenomena in society and also in art. They are the material for the manifestations of new art today, some of the starting points for its content and ways of showing itself. Exposure to change sensitises the artist to act as a filter or reflector or catalyst to express the reality around us. The artist’s interpretations of it shape and enrich our perceptions of the world, its meanings.

During their studies, Jenni, Petra and Mailis have been able to manage the conflicts brought about by change and develop independent and personal approaches to building their own expression. They have also been courageous in seeking different contacts and stimuli outside the ‘safe’ circle of school. Interaction between the world around them and the school is important, the exchange of ideas and ideas allows the school to breathe and removes a false sense of security.

The group has completed their advanced studies in the space and materials discipline. It has been a natural choice, supporting their own artistic orientation. The processing of works, the different ways of asking questions in their work are central to the themes of contemporary art. Materials have ranged from metal and wood to plastic and the materials used in our everyday environment. Photography and video as visual art media have also featured naturally and rightly.

The content of the works runs the gamut from rigorous and constructivist construction, to carnivalesque, stylish kitsch and exploratory, process-driven work, breaking the mould towards meaning. The final works on display in the Border exhibition encapsulate their current ambitions.

The future is open, success.

Henry Merimaa
Deputy Rector, Pori School of Art

Translated with DeepL.com