STATEMENT


An individual disappears into the crowd. Alone an individual is next to powerless. However, one’s responsibility over their own life has been emphasized ever since the Western welfare and satisfaction turned into dissatisfaction. A new kind of apparent welfare is forming amongst us.

The origin of the societal malaise is not in the hidden corruption or the underground economy, like we lead ourselves to believe. The crisis is, above all, a social one. My works tend to revolve around the examination of the issues concerning social roles, zeitgeist, contemporary mysticism and public discourses.

Social conventions are set to maximize the economical profit, not for the protection of the weak nor the environment. Art challenges these rules.


LOOKING AT THE WORK OF AURI MÄKELÄ


"I am sucked into a dreamlike world: she uses animals and people, but most of all birds to hold their own symbolism. Ink is used in a very polished fashion, not that it would be too neat, but you can see she is bringing out the best of it: detailed fine-line drawings of figurative forms set in an abstract environment. The dark tone sets a very strong mood, which is cut quite often with colored highlights. The compositions are visually very pleasing and everything seems to be in balance even if the strong abstracts might feel confrontational at times, peace in chaos. In many of her pieces she seems to be playing with the dreamworld of her own creation, but soon you meet with the parts that are in touch with our reality: political statements, resolutions and remarks, even witty or provoking suggestions on social science.

It seems as if the animals speak to me more than the humans, even though the topics on which they comment might be very far from the animal world. Maybe part of the point is that we are actually not excluded from the animal world, but a part of it as rotten mammal kings. Perhaps there is a different respect for animals than humans. To me, it seems the animals in her art don’t humanize the animals, but dehumanize the humans they don’t represent. Her photographs, sculptures and videos come from this same dream realm. The media adds into the content of the art by setting a whole new mood, and as such, giving another point of view. In a way I do feel that the dream is a veil between the world and me, another way I could choose to see it, but instead of making it better I see a certain mockery pointing out the faults and defects. The construction, the dream world in her art, reflects our reality and adds clarity. Even though it all seems a bit gloomy at times, to me a certain dark humor, a hint of black comedy adds contrast: the dark mood is not impenetrable and not too grave, even if it is to be taken seriously."


by Riikka Enne, 2013


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