Opening on Thrusday June 26th 5pm-7pm
Guided tour on Sunday July 27th 1pm, Lydia Toivanen as guide.
The exhibition explores the internal dynamics of a large family, the forms of togetherness, and the spiritual-material world of experience. My nuclear family consists of fourteen people, parents and twelve children.Our extended family has a total of 91 one-on-one relationships between family members. When you include all of posterity and different variations, the figure is significantly bigger. We naturally gather to form a single group, either consisting of the whole family or variable formations. As time passes, individuals grow older, and the family grows. Worldviews, roles and dynamics change constantly. My way of documenting the family has, over the past two decades, shifted from an unnoticed side activity to a central tool for social engagement.
The installation The Camp refers to a family camp that has been built in changing configurations for decades in the Summer Services area. The family camp is a gathering place and platform for discussion, as well as a symbol of our family’s community spirit and diversity. The camp is a delimited area, a territory that embodies the intangible heritage of our home, security and affection, but also rebellion and change.Collective and personal emotional memories of summer services are layered into the smell of wood chips. Conservative Laestadianism is the largests revival movement in Finland. Scattered among the photographic prints are miniature sculptures and object collages that reflect a child’s sensory experience of the event. These miniatures arise from stillness and the hands’ impulse to act – out of boredom, restlessness, or carefree play, sometimes to aid concentration.The materials are random and sourced from what’s available: trash, natural elements, or objects found in one’s pocket. A straw of grass and a licorice ribbon, lip balm, a rubber band, a bottle cap, and shiny candy wrapper. These are the elements of play at the camp. My family has participated in creating the miniatures. The camp is dedicated to the children of my siblings, with whom I have found myself repeatedly in the presence of wonder.
Mafia (2022) is a video essay that acts as a stage for events and emotions, illuminating the internal dynamics of our family. The piece highlights the different realities that arise for each individual despite a shared environment. The video is based on the constant presence of the smartphone, revealing its intimate and everyday nature. Without it, the work would not exist. The material spans ten years. Mafia is named after our family’s WhatsApp group.
Conservative Laestadianism is the largest revivalist movement in Finland. Suviseurat is the movement’s annual summer event, gathering around 80,000 attendees each year.
Lydia Toivanen (b. 1987, Kerava, Finland) is a Helsinki-based visual artist who works with photography, video, and spatial elements. In her work, she captures the internal dynamics of her large family in relation to individual growth and the spiritual legacy of home. Toivanen also collaborates in multidisciplinary artistic groups and productions. Toivanen graduated from Saimaa University of Applied Sciences with a focus on sculpture and from Turku University of Applied Sciences, Art Academy, majoring in photography. Currently, she is completing her studies in the master’s program in Photography at Aalto University. Toivanen’s works have been exhibited at venues such as the Finnish Museum of Photography, Titanik Gallery in Turku, Photographic Gallery Hippolyte and Fotografia Calabria Festival in Italy.
The artist’s work and exhibition have been supported by the Kone Foundation and the Patricia Seppälä Foundation.