Anu Halmesmaa: The Formula of Immortality
In Anu Halmesmaa‘s exhibition The Formula of Immortality, corporeality and vegetation blend together, reflecting the connection and transformation between humans and nature.
Through her work, Halmesmaa seeks to bridge the gap between humanity and nature in the hopes of also understanding her own existence and transience. The theme – nature’s cycle – invites audiences to contemplate their own relationship with life and death. The Formula of Immortality does not offer definitive answers, but gives space for reflection and insights as well as the opportunity to simply enjoy the vibrant colours and lively forms of the works.
Halmesmaa’s main medium is medium-density fibreboard (MDF) that she uses to create different shapes with a compass saw. Then she paints these shapes with alkyd paint and grinds them to create a glossy finish to emphasize the mirror-like effect. In ceramics, she works using her own technique in which clay is not burned but treated with various shiny paints as well as chromium and resin.
The guiding idea of the exhibition series at WAM Kilta Gallery is to invite a writer or an author from outside the field of visual arts to work with each artist and write a text based on the theme and works of the exhibition, which will then become a part of the exhibition. The text in Anu Halmesmaa’s exhibition was written by author, teacher and literature editor Silvia Hosseini.
The exhibition is curated by Jonni Saloluoma at the Turku City Art Museum. The exhibition is supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.
WAM Kilta Gallery
While the renovation and extension of WAM’s museum building are underway, the museum’s exhibitions can be seen at Kilta Gallery in Art House Turku.
Visit
The artist
Turku-based artist Anu Halmesmaa (b. 1981) works in sculpture, printmaking, painting and installation. Halmesmaa graduated from the Turku School of Drawing in 2006 and from the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts with a Master of Fine Arts in 2010.
Contract
If you fear death, you fear in vain, for there is no death. There is only matter, equal to the universe – circulating, dispersing, condensing and taking on new forms. Right now, it has taken on your form. Right now, you have the honour of representing life. When the time comes, decomposers and arthropods will rush to assist, returning your body to the earth’s embrace. And when the time is right, the matter will be restructured, and you will emerge in a new form once again. “Look, a bladder campion!” says someone, and there you are, all delicate and plump. There you are: as a common lizard, an orfe, a sea anemone, as a goldfinch and a thorn. You are one big corymb and caryopsis, all scales and canine teeth. Aspen leaves sparkle in the sun like sequins. This is the contract we were born to abide by: there is no death. There is only spirit, equal to the universe, constantly circulating. In this very moment, it shines within you, fades, finds a new direction and brightens once again. Your cleverness is now that of a violet, seeking its way through a crack in the asphalt in pursuit of light. Your determination is the determination of a hedgehog. It scurries along a rock face, slides slowly down, snuffles and climbs again. All your skills are aloft – akin to the song of a marsh warbler, an invisible drawing created by its soaring and swooping. Right now, swallows have the honour of representing life. Filled with ardor and ethereal knowledge, they use the alignment of the stars and the Earth’s magnetic field as their compass. They dart high, rest upon the clouds, and return only when morning comes. – Silvia Hosseini
