In November, Inari Raaterova’s autobiographical solo exhibition Disorder will open in Turku Kunstahalles Iso Gallery. The exhibition, which uses printmaking and drawing, travels loosely the chronicles of the artist’s life focusing on their years as a psychiatric patient. The series of some thirty works explores the impact of misdiagnosed psychiatric illness on the artist’s self-image and sense of self-worth as well as the reconstruction of identity after the identification of neurodivergence. From the fear of their own psyche and illness unravels a path that ultimately leads to understanding, acceptance and the awakening of hope.
“I have been working on and documenting the topic in the in-between period after the dissolution of old diagnoses, during neuropsychiatric examinations and after the confirmation of new diagnoses, all the while trying to document the changes in my self-image,” says Raaterova.
The collection of artworks is honestly personal but speaks out on the broader importance of correct diagnoses. By telling their story, the artist aims to add empathy to the debate around neurodiversity and shed light on why the explosion of neuropsychiatric diagnosis’ is not an unequivocally bad thing. Through their experiences, the artist also touches on the downsides of psychiatric treatment. Despite the seriousness of the themes, there is humour in the works, albeit pitch-black kind.
The works of the exhibition have been created over the past year at the Art House next to Kunsthalle. The collection has been made specifically for the Kunsthalle exhibition and the works have not been displayed in Finland before. Raaterova employs a wide range of techniques in their artwork, focusing on photography-based methods and monotypes. It is typical for them to vary techniques, but all techniques share visuality, two-dimensionality, and concrete hands-on work. In addition to printed images, the exhibition features drawings. Their passionate relationship with drawing and deep love for black form the core of Raaterova’s artistic work. In the Kunsthalle exhibition, a significant role is played by self-portraits and textual elements.
Inari Raaterova (b. 1993) is a visual artist born in Inari, raised in Rovaniemi and currently based in Turku. Raaterova graduated from The Arts Academy at Turku University of Applied Sciences in 2021. Disorder is their second solo exhibition. The exhibition is supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Weeks upon weeks in the hospital and never flowers
tens, if not hundreds, even thousands, kilograms of unnecessary medications
ten years imprisoned by false diagnoses
seven years until I learned the right name for my symptoms
two years until I dared to feel joy
sixteen years until the nurse uttered what I had been repeating from the very beginning
thirty years until I began to understand myself
thirty-one years until I began to believe in possibility
This is the story of seventeen years as a psychiatric patient and of the years that led to it. This is a story about waiting rooms, wards, and forced treatment. A story of seeking help, of not receiving it, of the harmfulness of it. A story of fear of illness, of one’s own mind, a story of losing, searching and finding oneself. A story of hope, its withering and awakening. This is a true story, and it’s mine.
I carry the story through my self-portraits. Capturing myself first by drawing, later by photographing has been a lifelong habit and a must. These pictures have aided in understanding the concreteness of existence and in perceiving the transformation of Self: it’s splits, but on the other hand permanence and cyclicality. The need to record has been accentuated during trying times. I have photographed so as to not forget who I am, who I was; I photographed so that I can see myself even when I fear I’m disappearing.
Likewise, creating other types of images is a deep innate need for me. In building images I am building myself, and conversing with myself across time. I tell myself about my experiences, my thoughts, my feelings. I tell many melancholic stories, but also plenty of jokes. Compared to my self-portraits, my works have followed an opposite pattern; the worse I am emotionally, the further my art has gone to elude my pain. Now for the first time, I am in a situation where I can look back and tell “this is what happened”. The past isn’t too far away, but it’s far enough. Therefore my story is not a cry for help, but a celebratory speech: a tribute to the fact that I am here, now, after everything, in spite of everything, further along than I could have imagined.
Thank you Anni, Eetu, Elena, Joona, Jussi, Katja, Kalle, Malla and Samuli. Most of all, thank you Saija, Maarit, Elina, Jukka and Antti.
Exhibition opening hours are Wed-Fri 12-18, Sat-Sun 12-16
Kunsthalle Turku, Iso Galleria
Address: Vanha Suurtori 5, Turku
