MALMITALO GALLERY | Annu Mikkilä: Who am I? – Me and the absence of Me September 1–24, 2022

Image: Annu Mikkilä  

Annu Mikkilä’s exhibition Who am I? – Me and the absence of Me will open next week in Malmitalo gallery! The exhibition runs from 1st until 24th September 2022.

You're warmly welcome to the exhibition opening on Wednesday, August 31, 5–7 pm!  

‘My body is heavy, like metal. Heavy, rusty, worn. My body turns unfamiliar like abandoned scrap metal at a junkyard. You never know what kind of story the metal hides behind it. Where did it get the various scratches, marks and wear? What will be left if one of the parts of me experiences a drastic change? How to rebuild me piece by piece? Are we more than our bodies or other external things? Where do you get strength from and can you expand your self-concept beyond yourself? Different ceramic creatures that get features from animals and us humans, as well as rusty, metallic human figures are intertwined into one entity and reflect on the concept of self. 

Anatta, the concept of not-self in Buddhist philosophy. According to Anatta, the Self does not exist, but consists of constantly changing observations, and none of these are permanent or mine. Attachment to different parts of the experience of the self brings suffering. Liberation from the self means liberation from suffering and understanding that the different parts of the experience of the self do not exist as separate existences from other phenomena. 

Recycled metal combined with different bodies tells about human fragility and the constant change of things, but also about strength and power. The characters explore the self through physicality. Sculptures made of clay, on the other hand, bring in the perspective of nature. Different strange creatures each embody their own unique personality. The creatures are power figures, like the forest's own divine beings.’ 

Annu Mikkilä is a sculptor who mainly uses recycled metal and ceramics as materials. Mikkilä lives and works in Finland in a small detached house in the middle of the forest together with her spouse, Unti the dog and two bunnies. It is important for Mikkilä to live in the middle of nature with animals because her art draws a lot of inspiration from nature; of its visuality, wisdom and mysticism. Mikkilä describes her home and studio as her own little bubble where she can calm down, retreat and let her creativity flow. With her sculptures, Mikkilä wants to show the wonder, inexplicability and beauty of life. A life that changes its shape and is always in motion, but on the other hand, it consists of small stopped moments. Roughness and difficult topics are also part of life, and Mikkilä wants to deal with them with gentle compassion. Annu Mikkilä’s exhibition has been supported by the The Arts Promotion Centre Finland and The Finnish Cultural Foundation.     

Malmitalo Gallery   Ala-Malmin tori 1, 00700 Helsinki   Mon–Thu 8–8 pm, Fri 8–6 pm, Sat 10–4 pm