Miss Kompro, Nelli Penna, Janika Salonen: 120
The 120 installations consist of works inspired by Lahti, ranging from nostalgia for traditional techniques to highly conceptual references. The exhibition celebrates Lahti’s anniversary year through a sense of gentle absurdism, neither glorifying nor questioning. The pieces create scenes in which everyday life and metaphors, the local and the universal, the personal and the familiar, and the familiar and the disruptive coexist. Viewers can gain insights through the materials, by looking from a different angle, or purely through imagination.
120 is the frequency at which static hum becomes something on the edge of recognition. It is the hum of a neon tube on the verge of ignition; the everyday life of a neighbour behind a concrete wall; resonance at the edge of the floor and in the cracks in the tiles. This frequency does not demand immediate attention, but lingers in the background.
120 is a series of snippets drawn from memory and observation. It does not aim to depict Lahti as a map would, nor does it seek to describe it in the style of a ceremonial speech. Instead, it offers a suggestion: could Lahti be captured in 120 seconds by approaching it with a flash of light from the backyards, evoking the memory of the burning sensation of concrete scraping against the knees? Familiar silence; potholes in the memory of the body; hometown.
Element 120 has not yet been discovered, but the hypothesis is that it would be the heaviest element in the stability island. Instead, three times a year, we can see 120-degree sun dogs far from the sun on the horizon — perfect reflections formed by horizontally floating flat ice crystals.
‘You are not alone, but you are not the focal point.’
Miss Kompro, Nelli Penna and Janika Salonen are all native Lahti residents who were educated at the Lahti Art Institute and have been active in the art association community for many years.
Galleria Uusi KipinäKymintie 1, 15140 Lahti
Avoinna ti – pe 12-18 la – su 12-16 (ma suljettu)
Free entrance