The Flooded Jungle 12/3/2016 – 22/5/2016 at Kerava Art Museum
Sirkka-Liisa Lonka
Feat. Erno Enkenberg, Sandra Kantanen, Tamara Piilola, Perttu Saksa
Viidakko tulvii – The Flooded Jungle is an exhibition containing works of art from Sirkka-Liisa Lonka, gathered from six different decades. Three major collections have been lifted from her extensive production: jungle images, maritime subjects and large, abstract pastel paintings. The exhibition will also involve the works of four artists born during the 1970s- such works will enter into dialogue with the most important themes of Lonka’s production.
Sirkka-Liisa Lonka was born in Kouvola in 1943 and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts during the 1960’s. She is an experienced traveller of the world and has spent time in Asia, Africa and Latin America since the early 1980s. She has also taught and participated in various art workshops in the same parts of the world.
Over recent years, Lonka has obtained subject matter from the jungles of Peru, where she has spent numerous winters. She has painted the surrounding nature at her house built in the shadows of the Amazon rain forest. Lonka isn’t, however, a mere observer, but rather a symbolist, who paints a metaimage of the jungle- the home of mysterious predatory beasts.
Pastel painting is an intermediate technique. Its picturesque character is easily translatable to sketching. Strong Eastern influences can be seen in the background of abstract pastel works. The composition and lightness of Chinese painting are clearly present. Her most recent large solo exhibition to be held abroad was organised in Lima, in a US-funded art centre in the fine district of Miraflores in 2010, from where it was also transferred to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Cusco.
The works of Sirkka-Liisa Lonka will be joined by four very different worlds, which, however, have a somewhat clear confluence to the themes of the exhibition. The paintings of Erno Enkenberg (p. 1975) transport us to Lonka’s familiar Amazon rainforest, to the indigenous lands of the Mascho-Piro. The works of Sandra Kantanen (p. 1974), Tamara Piilola (p. 1977), and Perttu Saksa (b. 1977) comment upon or supplement her water and marine subject matter.
In the manner of Sirkka-Liisa Lonka, Sandra Kantanen is fascinated by Oriental aesthetics. In her photographs, a bloom of jellyfish appears to be reflected as a sketched form in the membrane of the water and sky. The central part of Tamara Piilola’s painted dreamy landscapes is also comprised of water and the vegetation reflected on its surface. Water is dyed red in Perttu Saksa’s video, and transports your thoughts towards the cruelty of human nature.
The exhibition has been compiled by curator Veikko Halmetoja.
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