”Cycle of Life – Ephemeral Art” – Jarmo Vellonen
Galleria Laterna Magica

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”Ars longa, vita brevis,” they say. Most visual artists reach a point where storage space runs out or their skill has developed to such an extent that it’s time to dispose of some works one way or another. Some set their paintings on fire, which has worked well for me too. Since life is all about letting go, I’ve found those pyres quite cathartic. Porvoo-based Jarmo Vellonen’s way of creating his works as part of the forest anticipates their natural disappearance, at the mercy of Nordic weather and the cycles of nature. The technique feels close to me, especially since the Pit of the Tuonen Portti artist collective’s Konstantin Tuonihovi is an apt landscape canvas for such art. Vellonen calls it process art, which includes documenting the works through photography and video. That resonates with us at Portti, both at the Pit and in connection with other kinds of works.

 

As evening falls and you move through nature, stones and trees easily take on mythical forms. That’s why Vellonen’s clay figures attached to trees feel very familiar, as if you’ve encountered them in your own nearby forest. And no wonder—among them are mythological figures and animals familiar from childhood bedtime stories. This exhibition includes Tuonen Tytti from the Kalevala. For us enthusiasts of the underworld, the beyond and transitioning there feel close. Vellonen’s organic art reminds us of our own part in the cycle of life, providing a much-needed counterbalance to the superficial world’s plastic worship of youth.

At the same time, in this book gallery, you can explore equally organic but differently enduring art. It’s Anastasia Lapsui and Markku Lehmuskallio’s exhibition ”Photographs Along the Way.” The snapshots of these amateur photographers span geographically from Algeria to Australia and from Russia to Canada, but on the timeline, they reach all the way back to the dawn of our species. Often, the importance of literacy is emphasized, even though before that, humans were artists. Even after millennia, it’s effortless to recognize families, their sources of livelihood, and even a six-fingered devil in rock paintings! After snapping a few photos, I step out onto the rainy street and ponder what remains after the last artist is gone… When not a single finger depicts the cycle of life anymore.

The exhibitions end on Saturday, October 19.

Text: Carita Hännikäinen