Lotta Hänninen: Background Image
Yö Galleria 7.1.-22.1.2023
OPEN TUE-SUN 11-16
OPENING 6.1.2023 17-19
The exhibition consists of hand sewn wall rugs and murals made with ink and rubber stamp. The inspiration has been computer screensavers, background images of mobile phones, all sorts of wrapping papers and buss benches.
While working, I have considered the works as some sort of lorem ipsum -text, essentially a string of words that have no meaning. This placeholder text is used as a tool in graphic design and publishing. Words fill out the space and visualize what the page would look like when it’s finished. It is easier to concentrate on the layout rather than the content while the text itself is empty of meanings.
The works take their own space on the gallery walls and show how the room looks like with these kinds of settings. In the empty space wallpaper -like surfaces hold on their own without any coverage from furniture, picture frames or thumbnails or push notifications.
Murals are made with rubber stamps used in crafts and hobbies. The rubber stamp roller repeats the same pattern endlessly. Multiple ink layers create optical color mixes as does the wall rug’s pile that consists multiple different colored yarns.
Lotta Hänninen (b. 1984) is a Helsinki-based visual artist. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2012. Her works have been on display at various solo exhibitions, for example at Huuto Gallery (Helsinki, 2021) and tm•gallery (Helsinki, 2019). Hänninen’s works are included in the Finnish state art collection and the collections of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation and the Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art.
The artist’s work has been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and Finnish Cultural Foundation, Uusimaa Regional Fund.