Issue No. 28 – Control

What is the nature of control? The desire for it—and to be free of it—are essential parts of both life and art.

THE POWERS THAT BE AT STATION INDEPENDENT PROJECTS

©Mika Taanila, The Future Is Not What It Used To Be, 2002, still from a video. Image courtesy Kinotar and the artist.

 

 

The Powers That Be takes as its point of departure the knowledge of the body and the circulation of energy, more specifically the manifestations of physical energy. The thematic will be discussed through an ensemble of both contemporary and avant-garde works from the past by Marcel Mariën, Erkki Pirtola, Mika Taanila and Danila Tkachenko. The exhibition is curated by Ilari Laamanen.

2. Danila Tkachenko_from the series Escape_2013©Danila Tkachenko, from the series Escape, 2013. Image courtesy the artist.

 

1. Danila Tkachenko_from the series Escape_2013©Danila Tkachenko, from the series Escape, 2013. Image courtesy the artist.

 

 

Energy in this context is treated more as a prerequisite for life and for any human activity than as a commodity or resource. It seems that, at times, we act based on raw impulses that cannot be traced back to any given order or reason. The Powers That Be does not so much use the act of destabilization as a method or analytical tool as it takes for granted that all we can rely on is change. Knowledge is always in the state of becoming: it is never ready and should never be fixed. Therefore, to question is more meaningful than learning by heart and fitting in.

4. Portrait of shaman Johannes Setala by Minna Pollanen©Portrait of Shaman Johannes Setälä. Copyright Minna Haveri.

 

6. Mika Taanila_The Future©Mika Taanila, The Future Is Not What It Used To Be, 2002, still from a video. Image courtesy Kinotar and the artist.

 

 

Even though the artworks featured in the exhibition can be seen as channeling transcendental experience, the last resort is always the body and its urge to connect with, and learn from, its habitat. However, the habitat does no longer only refer to the physical surroundings and nature we encounter but also to our connection to the virtual realm. While it remains unclear what the hybridization of humans and machines can actually mean, it is tempting to map those very possibilities of extending both the human consciousness and the limits of corporeality.

9. Mika Taanila_The Future©Mika Taanila, The Future Is Not What It Used To Be, 2002, still from a video. Image courtesy Kinotar and the artist.

 

7. Mika Taanila_The Future©Mika Taanila, The Future Is Not What It Used To Be, 2002, still from a video. Image courtesy Kinotar and the artist.

 

 

The exhibition is a part of the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York's (FCINY) 25th Anniversary program focusing on the Urban Nature. Kindly supported by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture and Frame Visual Art Finland.

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All opening images by Calvin To.

**On View through August 9th, 2015

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