Frame Espresso: Codependence is a discussion series developed out of the open call for the Finnish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2017, drawing from the rich selection of proposed projects addressing the many dependencies and exclusions haunting the notion of independence.
Each session brings into dialogue resonant recent projects by invited artists, kicking off on Thursday 5 October with artists Diego Bruno, Marjo Levlin and Minna Henriksson at SIC Gallery.
Frame Espresso: Codependence brings together a diverse set of artistic projects that open up the complexity of these issues and their entanglements, clearing space for the unheard and the unseen, fostering cross-disciplinary dialogue, as well as unveiling our embodied and material implication in the codependencies that form the present.
The discussions aim to give visibility to contemporary art practices that ingeniously shed light on new avenues for engagement with the forces affecting our (co)existence today. They argue for the invaluable role of art and its potential in unravelling histories at play in the present, envisioning futures to come, pushing the limits of the thinkable and knowable, and making sensible the intertwined local and planetary conditions.
The discussions emphasize not only the significance of art’s participation in knowledge production but also the experimental and emergent methodologies of practicing codependence in and through art. The series thus responds to the urgent call to defend yet also rethink the autonomy of the arts in the face of the acute political and ecological crises, while balancing the tight rope above financialisation, populism and instrumentalization.
All discussions are open to the public and held in English or Finnish. They will be moderated by Taru Elfving, Head of Programme at Frame. Everyone is welcome to join us!
Frame Espresso: Codependence I
Thu 5th October at 4–6pm
Frame Espresso: Codependence launches a series of discussions this autumn looking at contemporary art practices that investigate various phenomena and tendencies transforming our society, environment, and subjectivities today.
The first event brings together artists Diego Bruno, Marjo Levlin and Minna Henriksson to present their recent work and discuss their shared interests in and different approaches to reckoning with silenced histories that haunt the present. It is organized in collaboration with SIC. The discussion will be in English.
Location: SIC, Makasiini L3, Tyynenmerenkatu 6 C, Helsinki
The film 1035 / 1039 by Diego Bruno departs from a clandestine printing press operated by the Revolutionary Party of the Workers (PRT) in Argentina, during the period of revolutionary armed struggle in the 1970. By investigating the specific location where the clandestine press functioned, the film produces a site for this survey, for a testimony.
Diego Bruno (b. Argentina) lives and works in Helsinki. His artistic practice evolves from the existing relations and ruptures between form and information.
http://www.diegobruno.fi/
The video installation Dividual Individual by Marjo Levlin examines racial biology and especially the research carried out by Florin’s committee in the Swedish speaking areas of Finland. In 1914 the whole population of Malax in Ostrobothnia was examined and the skulls of all the 25-40 year olds were anthropologically measured in order to specify how many belonged to the Germanic or Northern race and how many in the Finnish or Eastern Baltic race.
Marjo Levlin (b. Austria) lives and works in Helsinki, Finland. Her artistic work often involves collected or found objects and a variety of media in addition to video.http://www.marjolevlin.fi/
Works on Paper by Minna Henriksson is a graphic story with forty linocuts on the political history of paper industry in Finland. The work has two parts; one of which focuses on the role of the paper industrialists’ support of the right-wing movements in Finland, and the other on controversial paper trade with the South African apartheid regime, and the boycott initiated by the trade unions.
Minna Henriksson (b. Finland) is a visual artist from Helsinki, whose media include text, drawing and photography. She is interested in covert deep political processes that appear to be neutral and natural.
http://minnahenriksson.com/
Frame Espresso: Codependence II
Sat 18th November, 2–4pm
This discussion examines questions and artistic practices related to decolonization, featuring artists Outi Pieski and Marja Helander. Realized in collaboration with the Baltic Circle Festival as part of the Sijdsååbbar programme curated by Pauliina Feodoroff, the discussion will be in Finnish.
Location: Baltic Circle Festival, Konepajan Bruno, Aleksis Kiven katu 17 a, Helsinki
Frame Espresso: Codependence III
Thu 30th November, 4–6pm
The third event focuses on matters more than human, featuring artists including Juha Pekka Matias Laakkonen and Tuula Närhinen. The discussion is co-organized with Kohta.
Location: Kohta, Työpajankatu 2 B, 3., Helsinki (Teurastamo area, building n.7)
Frame Espresso is a forum for critical discussions on current trends, topics and challenges within contemporary art. Frame Espresso is a wandering event that pops up at changing venues. It is organised in collaboration with various art organisations.