Hannu Karjalainen
In his works, Hannu Karjalainen (FIN, 1978) concentrates on the thematic complex of reality and its adaptation in the artistic genre of the portrait. He examines reality and the artist's possibilities of perceiving and reproducing it. The image captured in a medium is regarded less as a mirror of reality than as a kind of theatrical staging in which reality is captured and reduced to two dimensions. Hence, through the lens of the artist using the medium, an arsenal of different and varied reproductions of reality is created. The portrait, which Karjalainen has chosen as the starting point of his artistic works, serves the viewer as a window, it offers a view into an identity, which it thus turns into a possible mirror of reality. With Karjalainen, the portrait, conceived as a photo and then adapted in film and video, becomes a hybrid in-between world influenced by practices and concepts of cinematic art as well as photography. In this manner, memories collectively represented are to turn into a personal narrative offering insights into private memory and the fragility of life.
In the installation, "Haapavesi- Helsinki" (2004), which reveals a fragmented narrative structure, themes of growing up, memory, and movement are addressed. Added to the installation are voices taken from a documentary film on the northern Finnish town of Haapavesi from the 1960s. This hubbub represents the industrial development of the northern Finnish town at the time. The optimistic tone is overshadowed by the socio-critical aspect that, in the following years, the rural population gradually fared worse and the city of Helsinki became the centre of life. As a further layer, Karjalainen weaves his own, private history into the work: "Haapavesi-Helsinki", on the one hand, depicts the landscape of his childhood, and on the other, the city of Helsinki in which he currently resides. Karjalainen pursues the question of what recollections or childhood memories mean, and to what extent they manifest themselves in the process of growing up. The pictures thus become an intimate portrayal combined with the idea of how fragile life can be.
Hannu Karjalainen, Man in a blue shirt, 2006, 16 mm film on dvd
Curriculum vitae
Hannu Karjalainen, Girl in a red sweater, 2006, 16 mm film and stereo sound on dvd
Hannu Karjalainen, Woman with dark hair, 2007, DVC Pro HD on dvd
exhibitions, festival (selection)
solo exhibitions
group exhibitions
publications
awards and grants