Tracing Work

Tracing Work is an exhibition which brings together themes related to work and the working process in various ways. Topics examined through the artworks include the unnoticed work of the artist, the artist’s livelihood, the history of the labour movement, and the transience of one’s own work and its preservation, for example. The name of the exhibition, Tracing Work, alludes to the memories evoked by art, the tracing of the artists, our perceptions of the world.The word trace can be understood as something passive, but it can also refer to a more active process or activity. Tracing means to leave an impression, to make a mark, to mark something down.

The process of making art includes an aspect of loneliness and insecurity, while in collaborative artistic projects the artists must be able to negotiate and to make choices and value judgments

We often think of work as something that can be seen – a goal-oriented process. However, much of the work we do remains concealed; it is meta-work that is performed for the purpose of working.

The exhibition is curated by students of the Praxis Master’s Programme, and it is intended to present the audience with different roles and ways of experiencing things in the context of the themes of the exhibition. Depending on the artwork and the precise date, the guests may find themselves in the role of a spectator, an experiencer, or a participant. They may also have the opportunity to use their body as a cast in an expanding work of art. In their search for traces, the audience can follow pathways introduced by several performances, the Artist’s Archives workshop that emphasises the importance of preservation, and the interviews of professional artists that will be organised in connection with the exhibition.

Artists

Yun-Chen Chang
Natalie Eliassen
Taina Hakala & participants in Taiteilijan arkistot workshop
Domènec & Jon Irigoyen
Anni Laukka
Klaus Maunuksela & work group

Curators

Tracing Work exhibition is curated by Praxis students Ida Enegren, Krister Gråhn, Jarkko Partanen, Joonas Pulkkinen and Johanna Rojola.

Events

Yun-Chen Chang - Still Changing: Landscape

On weekends, a performance is presented as part of Yun-Chen Chang’s work Still Changing: Landscape. In the performance, the body of the performer, as well as the audience, is absorbed as part of an ever-changing installation. The installation is open to the public between the performances throughout the exhibition.

Performances:
Sun 13.3 at 14
Sat 19.3 at 14
Sun 27.3 at 14
Sun 3.4 at 14

Natalie Eliassen: Breastfall – Sign up & volunteer!

Natalie Eliassen`s Breastfall grows and evolves throughout the exhibition timeline. You can volunteer your breasts to be casted and added to the growing waterfall. All genders, shapes and sizes are welcome. Making of the mold with Natalie takes in total 1,5h.

Read more and sign up for a session here.

Jon Irigoyen: The Expedition to Kulttuuritalo Tue 15.3. at 2pm.

On Tuesday 15th of March at 14:00 artist Jon Irigoyen will create a performative trip to Kulttuuritalo, expanding the context of The Worker’s Hand from the gallery space to the research site itself. Irigoyen wants to offer to participants a chance to engage with the gallery piece in original surroundings. Field excursion is open for all and free of charge. The group will meet at Kulttuuritalo, address Sturenkatu 4, Helsinki.

Apuraha ja tunteet (‘Grant and Feelings’)

A play by dramaturge Klaus Maunuksela, Apuraha ja tunteet, will be performed as a closet drama on 1 April at 6 p.m. The play received its premiere at the KNF Festival for Finnish Plays organised in Teatteri Jurkka in November 2021, and as the name implies, it investigates the relevance of the grant system to the artist’s livelihood and artistic self-esteem. The play is based on a poll organised by Maunuksela for artists and researchers.

The closet drama is directed by Sini Pesonen, and the performers include Juho Keränen, Kaisa Leppänen, Hanna-Kaisa Tiainen, and Pietu Wikström.

After the performance, Maunuksela will be joined by artist-researcher Minna Heikinaho and visual artist Minna Henriksson in a panel discussion that delves into the main themes of Maunuksela’s play.

Both the performance and the panel discussion will be held in Finnish.

Artist’s Archives workshop – registration closed

The Artist’s Archives workshop is organised by artist Taina Hakala from the Feminist Comics Network together with Ida Enegren and Johanna Rojola from the Praxis Master’s Programme of the University of the Arts Helsinki. The workshop hosts three meetings during the exhibition. The knowledge accumulated during the meetings will be compiled into a publication, which is made available in the exhibition. The publication is intended to function as a general toolbox which artists can use when they think about how to archive their artistic work.

In the workshop, we consider ways of organising, archiving, and classifying materials that belong to us and to our community. The workshop is intended to introduce a topic for discussion and to provide a venue for people to engage with it.