Exhibition information

Galerie m Bochum will present from 29 June to 24 November 2018 in the solo exhibition Women (on their own) the latest works by Aino Kannisto (*1973 Espoo, Finland, lives and works in Helsinki) in relation to earlier works.

Untitled (Woman with Baby sleeping) shows a highly intimate scene. A sleeping mother has one arm around her newborn and the other encircling the child yet open, suggesting a bond that is at once confining and liberating. The initial impression of harmony is however fractured by the directness of the photographic details. The figures’ physicality is emphasized, with the bluish tinge of the newborn’s complexion giving rise to disquieting associations.

Untitled (Woman with Baby sleeping) is the first picture Aino Kannisto has exhibited in which she portrays herself as a mother with child. Whereas up to now she has always photographed herself playing roles that she developed independently of her personal life, the artist now shows herself with her own child in a role that she is herself filling at this very moment. Self-portrait and fictitious staging coincide.

Kannisto’s new works unfold a fascinating range of pictorial narratives and formal compositions. This spectrum was the springboard for selecting earlier works by the artist to display in the show. Untitled (Black Bathroom), for example, revisits the strict image structure in works such as Untitled (Woman under a Sheet), in which atmospheric density and formal clarity take precedence over the story being related. In Untitled (Pink Divan), by contrast, the profusion of details arouse numerous, incompatible, associations that defy any neat resolution, allowing the image to retain its mystery.

One of the most captivating photographs in the exhibition is Untitled (Pink Gown). We can experience here in exceptional fashion how Aino Kannisto is able to masterfully orchestrate the different levels that come together in her works. The posture of the subject projects a feeling of dignity and fragility, while the muted light falling through the window plays across the folds of her garment to create an almost sculptural impression recalling Old Master depictions of the Virgin Mary. The clear composition, together with harmonious, restrained coloration and the delicate light lend the seemingly cold, sterile scene an enchanting beauty.