Art in Valkea
Get to know the works and artists of the event Valkea 2023 – Light and Art Festival.
1. / 8. Ochoresotto: Mesh / Relation
Ochoresotto is an Austrian group of artists focusing on moving images and projections. For more than fifteen years they have shaped and realised different projects in multimedia-based fields. Ochoresotto creates installations on any kind of screen and make rooms appear in a different light - literally. In addition, they capture moments on analog film and shoot with various digital technologies. Ochoresotto strives to find new ways of perception with experience and passion.
Ochoresotto has two art pieces: Mesh (located at Planetarium) ja Relation (located at the amusement park)
2. Samuli Halla & Katja Kouvolainen – Nordic Butterflies
Katja Kouvalainen is a visual artist from Joensuu who specializes in murals and large-scale interior paintings. Katja combines modern technique and traditional stories in her art. Katja has tens of years of experience in the visual arts through work, teaching and various projects.
Samuli Halla is an architect and a set designer. During the last twenty years, he has done versatile stage and costume design in Finnish professional theaters.
Nordic Butterfly, a decorative and impressive piece consisting of five large butterflies, was inspired by Finnish butterflies Celastrina argiolus, Aglais urticae, Aglais io, Papilio machaon, and the rarely seen vagabond of the Finnish nature, Acherontia atropos.
Biodiversity has dropped down globally by nearly 30 per cent since the year 1970. The world is losing a lot of beauty and the group of artists wish to highlight this with their artwork. The piece was displayed for the first time in the spring of 2018, in CidNeon Light Festival in Italy.
3. Tuomo Lehikoinen: Check This
Tuomo Lehikoinen is a versatile event producer with over 20 years of experience in organizing events. In his latest venture, Lehikoinen has delved into the world of light art, expressing particular enthusiasm for it. His debut piece, Check This, is a tangible creation utilizing ultraviolet lights and fluorescent threads.
4. Rami Saarikorpi: Ultraviolet Reality
Rami Saarikorpi is a respected photographer with over 30 years of experience in specialized photography. His expertise spans various photographic techniques, and he has been involved in developing several innovative methods in the field of photography. He is particularly known for his expertise in 360-degree panoramic photography.
Ultraviolet Reality combines nature and technology by showcasing how the color and light properties of flowers impact their interaction with the environment. The series presents plants from two different perspectives: as seen by the human eye and in ultraviolet light, through pollinators eye. In normal light, flowers appear familiar and beautiful to us, but ultraviolet light reveals hidden patterns, signs, and attractive colors that help insects find the flowers and carry out their crucial role as pollinators.
The interactive section of Ultraviolet Reality allows adjusting the lighting to explore flowers from the pollinators' perspective by using different light spectra. This interactive experience encourages contemplation of human awareness and the limitations of our perception in understanding biodiversity.
Ultraviolet Reality challenges us to consider our responsibility for the well-being of our planet. It asks how we can contribute to the preservation of biodiversity. How can we establish a more sustainable and balanced relationship with our environment?
5. Kari Alonen: Several Works
Kari Alonen is a long-standing visual artist from Central Finland who has become known both for his groundbreaking art and for the new combination of stone, glass, and light. Social criticality and humor are weapons with which Alonen takes a stand on the grievances he sees. "The guerrilla of humor beats the army of facts."
Alonen began his career as a civil servant, but he soon found that making art was more appealing than creating a career in an agency. The shortcomings of the system also meant that he did not want to be part of that system. On the contrary, these experiences act as a springboard for positional art. Eventually, for Alonen, the desire to try overcame the fear of failure, and he ended his career as a civil servant to start making art full-time without any other livelihood.
In Valkea 2023 event there are several glass sculptures from Alonen.
6. Jouni Väänänen: My Pandemic
Jouni "Psyke" Väänänen is a graffiti and street artist with over 25 years of experience creating various wall paintings.
My Pandemic is a series of portraits painted with ultraviolet-reactive spray paint, showcasing the many faces of the pandemic era. According to Väänänen, the series stemmed from personal frustration regarding the treatment of individuals within the arts and cultural sphere during the COVID-19 pandemic. The three-meter-tall radiant faces gaze directly ahead, prompting a contemplation of the pandemic from the perspective of an overlooked individual.
7. Michel Suk: Step into the Light
Michel Suk is a technician and artist from Eindhoven. He spent his student days in Eindhoven and quickly interacted with technology. He dived into the light through theater productions, TV, and music performances. Suk has a special bond with GLOW Eindhoven, and he has learned the many sides of light.
Suk gets a lot of inspiration from architecture and music. He always tries to make a statement with his projects. Michel has been on a leading role on hundreds of large scale projects all over the world.
Step into the Light invites its viewers to step into the light in the middle of living spotlights. The work is spectacular both up close and from afar, and it creates clear, thin pillars of light that stand out over Särkänniemi from afar.
9. Samuli Halla: StigAir
Samuli Halla is an architect and a set designer. During the last twenty years, he has done versatile stage and costume design in Finnish professional theaters.
In the fall of 2016, Halla accepted a two-year position as set designer and costume designer at Finland's newest theater house, the Lappeenranta City Theatre. In the years 2008–2010, he worked as a scenographer at the Joensuu City Theatre. He received Jussi award for the stage design of the film Pelikaanimies.
Halla specializes in combining different techniques, of which StigAir is an excellent example. The piece shows how lace scarves and Stiga players can be combined.
10. Aleksandra Stratimirovic: Underworld
Aleksandra Stratimirovic is a Swedish artist with an extensive knowledge and understanding of light and lighting technologies. She creates temporary and permanent site-specific works in public space in her native country and abroad.
Underworld is an installation that depicts an imaginary, small underwater settlement. The installation aims to draw attention to the delicate marine life and its fragile environment. It's crafted from fishing nets and other fishing materials gathered from the seabed.
11. Antti Kulmala: The Heart Project
Antti Kulmala is a Finnish artist specializing in light art and installation art. Kulmala has created several significant light art pieces in Finland and abroad, and his works have been exhibited at various light festivals. His works often combine different elements such as sound, light, and video, and are known for their multidisciplinary approach. Kulmala is also recognized for his community-oriented and multicultural works. He has strong professional skills in art-making and event production.
Kulmala's artworks have been recognized both nationally and internationally. He works as the artistic director for the SirkusUnioni group and Arnold Kulmala oy. He graduated from Turku Arts Academy in 2005.
12. Tommi Aunola: Aqua Terra
Tommi "Toma" Aunola is a Finnish visual artist with a background in drawing, painting, and sculpture. Expanding his field into installations and light art, his work Aqua Terra attempts to bring the visual aspects of the underwater world into our earthly surroundings. With the mediums of UV-reactive dyes on cloth and light he brings large scale sea creatures seemingly floating in the air in a forest landscape creating a surreal feel.
13. Kari Kola: Blue Pyramid
Kari Kola is a light artist from Joensuu and the artistic producer of Valkea 2023 – Light and Art Festival. Kola has worked with light for over 20 years and has worked in over 2,000 projects in a leading role. He has convincing experience with international, massive outside works and he is well known as a forerunner of light art. Kola has experience in working with exhibitions, theatre, dance shows, festivals, and operas. Lately, he has focused in projects where light itself is playing the leading role.
Kola likes to work outdoors and even in extreme conditions. Typically he brings light art to special sites where no-one has done it before. He has created light installations for several special sites like Stonehenge, UNESCO HQ in Paris and other special historical and nature reserve areas with temperatures variating from -45 to +45 degrees of celsius.
At Valkea 2023, Blue Pyramid is the most prominent artwork, towering over Särkänniemi at heights reaching several kilometers. Using customized equipment, this artwork has the capability to create extraordinary elements in the sky.
Ritva Muikku: Rose of Dawn
Ritva Muikku is a costume designer with over 20 years of experience in the field of costume design. Muikku has extensive experience from numerous theater productions, films, and TV series. Alongside her team, Muikku was responsible for crafting the character costumes, shoes, and accessories for YLE's "Uusi päivä" series, among others. Rose of Dawn stands as a masterwork merging costume design, light art, and performing arts.
This art piece is walking around the area from 4 pm to 9 pm taking breaks in between.