Light is a powerful means of expression in contemporary art

Light is a prerequisite for life on Earth. Variation between light and shadow gives rhythm to our lives, and, especially at these latitudes, has a direct impact on our mood. Depictions of light have been a central part of visual arts since the Renaissance. For a hundred years already, physical light and light sources themselves have been used as part of artworks in various ways. Modern architecture, in particular, started to pay attention to light and lighting.  

In the 1960s, as technology evolved, light art started to take shape as a separate art form, but it has only gained widespread recognition in Finland in recent years as a result of various light art festivals. Light is a powerful means of expression in contemporary art. In art, light means more than just illuminating houses or trees with coloured lights. 

Artists and artist groups in the exhibition  

Superpositio, an installation by Anna Hyrkkänen from Tampere, highlights the mechanisms by which the human body, mind, brain and consciousness are connected and work together, creating a microcosm that functions by its own rules, constantly developing and shaping its operations.  

Helsinki-based New Media Art Collective Konvolv deals with social, political and environmental topics and issues in its artwork. HAMISTAGAN, an artwork combining lasers, hand-blown glass, soundscapes and computer code, deals with the attention economy and the economic change based on intellectual property.  

Light artist Antti Kulmala’s work Valon vektorit (Vectors of light) discusses the physical properties of light and challenges viewers to reflect on the relationship between light, space and movement in a new way. 

Kokkola-based visual artist Anni Laukka makes special use of shadows in her work. Her latest works deal with the distress and suffering caused to children by the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The works consist of children’s toys collected by the Ukrainian charity Malyn Volonter from homes hit by bombs in Malyn, Morozivka, Mykolaiv and Borodyanka in Ukraine. 

Pasi Rauhala, a visual and media artist living and working in Lohja, is particularly known for his spatial and interactive installations. For Wires, a media work filling the WAM sculpture hall, Rauhala has 3D-scanned people at various events for source material and modified the results into a visually impressive, abstract 3D animation.  

Alexander Salvesen often focuses on colours, space and shapes, and particularly their relationship with each other and the viewer. Salvesen’s work often stems from observations made in the surrounding nature and the related phenomena, but also from current political and socio-economic situations.  

The exhibition has been curated by Jonni Saloluoma, Exhibitions Curator at Turku Museum Centre.