Rådhusgalleriet, Nykarleby, Finland, 2022
Color experiments and two projects together with the residents of Nykarleby.
The exhibition was a collaboration with Nykarleby Kultur & Fritid and Svarvars trävaruhandeln and a part of a residency at Our Air. The exhibition received support from Svenska kulturfonden and Svensk-Österbottniska Samfundet.
Color experiments on paper. Our Air residency's garden waste pile was a perfect spot to work with several years of interest in recycled materials and things already thrown away. Dead, dried, thrown-away plants, plant parts, and flowers became the material and technique for the drawings, executed using only the plants. The experimental color studies became counterparts in the exhibition for the sheets of wood, as the work started to take a new outlook as time passed.
15.7. - 15.8.2022. Participants placed one 30x30 cm sheet of wood in an indoor or outdoor location of their choice and let the sheet stay in the same spot for one month. The result of the work unfolded when the sheets were returned by participants and arranged together at the Rådhusgalleriet.
gemenskapens melodi (eng. fellowship's melody) is the result of two workshops where participants built instruments using recycled materials. Ready instruments were played with an assistance of a table fan or by a visitor. The title gemenskapens melodi was invented and chosen by visitors. It was possible to suggest a title by writing it on a piece of paper, place the paper on the wall, and give a vote by marking an X on the existing titles.
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Old School Art House, Hrísey, Iceland, 2020
Observations on vanishing and temporality using garden waste together with lights and shadows that synchronized in the atelier.
Loaded
Hair + Nails Gallery, Minneapolis, USA, 2017
“Mari’s exhibition will feature process-led work, informed by her materials. Her process allows the chain of events leading up to the finished installation to link each piece, through previously occurring and subsequent stages of development. Utilizing parchment paper, cellophane, tin foil, black paint, water and lighting, Mari’s installation explores interconnectivity, creating an environment that blurs the line between process and product, physically allowing the viewer inside of her working process. The title of the exhibition can be understood to contain a multitude of meanings, suggesting that each piece has been loaded with both conscious and unconsciously occurring stories and narratives by the artist as well as the audience.” Margaret Coleman
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Luovon luomat - Hailuoto meidän silmin, Luoto Gallery, Hailuoto, Finland, 2016
Hrísey - Með okkar augum, Sæborg, Hrísey, Iceland, 2016
Two exhibitions in collaboration with residents and visitors aiming to make visible how this community, people who live on an island, see their home environment. Residents loaned their artworks, pictures, objects and texts especially for the exhibition. Displayed work connected to themes like nature, home and sea. The residents´ work was juxtaposed with visitors viewpoints on the same environment through the drawings and artwork exhibited.
Hrísey - Með okkar augum
Sæborg, Hrísey, Iceland, 2016
Photo credits: Robert Foster
Luovon luomat - Hailuoto meidän silmin,
Luoto Gallery, Hailuoto, Finland, 2016
Photo credits: Mikko Mathlin, Petri Heikkinen, Riikka Mathlin
Homesickness
The Nordic House, Reykjavik, Iceland, 2013
Installation, light works and travel journals
Our cultural and personal background defines our understanding of nature and the way we look at and depict it. My aim is not to visualize a specific place. Instead I seek to enter into a dialogue with an environment that I can relate to and where I can experience a feeling of home. Being intuitive and process lead, my artistic practice examines the possibilities and boundaries of drawing, printing and installation. It is a continuous enquiry into the properties of media where one work generates the next.
Homesickness
The Nordic Art School. Kokkola, Finland, 2011
Light installations and the soundscape by Laura Iso-Metsälä
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I Byn - Kylässä
With Johan Grönlund and Piia Sieppi
Stundars outdoor museum, Solf, Finland, 2008
From the press release: How can we create a dialogue between the present and the past without distorting a fantasy-like atmosphere of the surroundings of the museum? We noticed that the area lacked an essential landmark, a church. Even though the social role of the church has dramatically changed, and its importance has reduced since the period Stundars outdoor museum represents, the church buildings and the institution still hold an important position in the society. Like around the outdoor museum, we wanted our work to function in lively dialogue with the visitors. Three benches set up at the museum area invite visitors to take a seat and listen to what kind of feelings and thoughts arise while seated. As a model, we have used the benches at Solf Church, which stands in the background.
Photo credits: Piia Sieppi and Leif Strengell
Paintings, drawings and mixed media
G5, Oulu, Finland, 2007
G5, Oulu, Finland, 2007
Projects
Populus tremula, Akureyri, Iceland, 2004
