THE LAST JOURNEY – Ossi Somma
”I feel I have been understood as an artist when the viewer starts looking for an answer to the question WHY ” says Ossi Somma (born 1926) when asked to describe his artistic career of five decades.
PRESS RELEASE:
In his art, Ossi Somma (b. 1926) critically examines the foundations of social injustice, employing irony to scrutinize both institutions of power and individuals ensnared in the mechanisms of consumer society. The human figures in his works are grotesque caricatures shaped by societal systems that distort humanity. Recurring motifs in his pieces include the chair, symbolizing power and material wealth, and the coffin, a metaphor for the worship of earthly riches. His philosophy of dissent is driven by the stubborn determination of an artist who forges his own independent path and the ideal of human solidarity.
A comprehensive collection of Somma’s works is displayed as a sculpture park on the grounds of his home, a former elementary school in the village of Penttilä, Siuro, Nokia. His works have been regularly featured in both solo and group exhibitions, in Finland and abroad.
In his piece The Final Journey (1986), Somma’s chair-people reveal the greed for power and material possessions, as well as the objectification of others. Dragged along by the pitiless leash of the coffin, representing worldly wealth, these unfortunate figures embody tragic human fates. The desire to control one’s own life drives the compulsion to construct a world that bends to our will. We build a kingdom of possessions around us, believing we command it and that it provides meaning to our lives. In reality, these possessions—the instruments of earthly power—begin to dictate our existence. The chair-people, burdened by nooses of material wealth, appear profoundly human in their misery—unwitting victims trapped in the snares of society, reduced to ruins.
Ossi Somma (b. 1926) graduated from the Institute of Industrial Arts in 1956. He served as a sculpture teacher and later as principal of the Kankaanpää Art School from 1974 to 1991.