unfin(n)ish|ed

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Finland, the most sparsely populated country on the edge of Europe, is celebrating 100 years of independence in 2017. For centuries it was part of the Swedish Empire and then, among other things, as an autonomous Grand Duchy, part of the Russian Tsarist Empire until independence. Finnish culture has absorbed these influences from Western Europe as well as Russia. What we call Finnish is a hybrid of many different influences and languages. We all come from somewhere – who we belong to or where we have been displaced to shows that social participation, belonging and identity have always been and still are a plaything of diverse interests.

100 years after the formation of a democratic society, Finland is also in a period of change. Like many other European countries, it is experiencing the rise of new nationalist movements and the questioning of an open society. Previous multi-ethnic coexistence, cultural diversity, education and the value of social openness are at stake because of the unmanageable effects of globalisation and the flood of media (dis)information.

Under the title unfin(n)ish|ed – Aktuelle Formen künstlerischen Handelns aus Finnland (Current Forms of Artistic Action from Finland), the exhibition at the Kunstverein Tiergarten is dedicated to current questions, debates and discourses on identity that have emerged in recent years against the background of current (global) political conditions and problems, also in Finland.

Six contemporary Finnish artists from different generations with Finnish, Swedish, Iraqi and German roots show paintings, sculptures, photographies, videos and installations. From a variety of perspectives, the artists approach the influences of historical events on their own identity construction and belonging, violence, powerlessness and media overload. Sometimes ironically provocative, both cultural stereotypes and fixed identities are questioned and being foreign is translated into absurd actions.

The Finnish anniversary is a memorable occasion to think further about an open concept of society: “unfin(n)ish|ed” is a word construction that appeals to this very openness.
A screening of international video/performance art on the theme of protest from Finland and a German-Finnish double concert expand the section of current Finnish artistic strategies.

With the kind support of Frame Contemporary Art Finland, the Finland Institute and the district funding of the Senate Department for Culture and Europe.

Thanks to: Andreas Wolf, Dr. Anna E. Wilkens, Ville-Matti Rautjoki from Taidemuseum Hyvinkää and Toolbox – Finnish-German Art Space.

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