can we go already?

can we go already? is an exploration of endings, death and the fragile nature of existence that resonates with the concept of finitude. In a society where death, whether through war, epidemics, or mass extinctions, seems to have an amplified presence, the need to reassess and engage with these themes is ever more pressing. The exhibition challenges traditional representations of mourning, death and the human body, which are limited by standard ideals.

The exhibition intersects the worlds of custom and combines them in a collage-like manner that reflects the complexity of our social, cultural and physical existence. It reflects the complexity and fragmented nature of our modern world. The juxtaposition of the object and the abject in representations of the body, rooted in art history, reminds us of the age-old tension between purity and corporeality, the sacred and the damned. Through customs such as funerals, the transition from a deceased loved one to biodegradable matter the individual becomes indefinite. Traditions protect us from our vulnerable nature, which is fleeting, transient and, (n)ever-ending.

Artists

István Antal
Elsa Heikkilä
Aarne Kivelä
Lassi Kontiainen
Elias Langi
Axel Oey
Daniel Palpa
Raisa Raudas
Jaakko Ristimäki
Johanna Saikkonen