A Kehotus Magazine edition about ‘space’. I was invited by Johanna Järviluoto to contribute to this upcoming edition from the perspective of an artist.

This morning I saw a video of a deep sea fish with glowing eyes inside its head, positioned right next to each other and pointed upwards. The ‘skull’ of this fish is completely seethrough, allowing it to see up in space through its own head.

‘Space’ is a vague term, how it relates to art, installation and life is equally vague. I think it is important to start off with considering space as a concept. Space is as much defined by a non material ‘frame’ as by walls in a building. This ‘frame’ might have a social character, a historical character, a personal character,.. or all of them toghether. Here it becomes clear how arbitrary the term really is and in howfar it is woven into the structure of the human experience. But what is real-
ly important to me when floating around in this arbitrary understanding of what spaces are or can be, is that the many layers of space in which we exist all hold specific meanings. I want you to imagine this as a vast multi layered web or net-
work of meanings through which we constantly move. This moving through and interacting with meaning is the human experience. The constant making sense of what is inherent in spaces, actions and interactions is a mechanism of forming
a self, a distillation out of the chaotic mess of meanings we constantly encounter, to form a coherent interpretation of the world. In doing this, many, many bits of meaning are looked over in favour of this coherent image. Which we experience
as the context -or space- of our own life, our plain of existance.

This is where contemporary art makes such a hard break from the rest of reality. Breaking with the idea of life as a coherent experience makes for a reception on par with those of spiritual and mystic practices. Artists reach into this confusingnetwork of meanings, and when focussed enough, come back with something that does not deny the confusing nature of what life is, but presents a perspective on ‘being’. Making sense of this web of meanings and playing around with it requires time and focus. And that seems to me the work of the contemporary artist. To find interest in this work on the other hand, does not require particular focus. Just a willingness to recoginze the experience of life as an absurd amalgamation
of meanings without much coherence, and that is to live with genuine curiosity and wonder.

I do not know in howfar this all seems an evident truth or falsehood to some. The tone of authority used in the text is a tool to articulate certain thoughts more clearly. It is not because i know better.

Let me know what you think and if you want to join the barreleye space installation society.
jacob9.lambrecht@gmail.com

The interview – Johanna Järviluoto

You study installation art in Belgium and stayed recently in Helsinki for a month. What differences in the use of urban space have you noticed between Finland and Belgium?

More uniformity and structure in Helsinki. Also less historical.

What was the most fascinating space that you encountered in Finland? Do you have a picture of it?
Aalto University campus, it is a very strange place and has certain utopian qualities which feel comforting and unsettling at the same time.

What do you wish to tell or show people with your installation art?
see my long answer

Where do you search for inspiration for you art?
Life

What do you think could be done to make spaces bring wellbeing to people?
Redistribute wealth effectivelly

What positive changes can installations bring about for people? Do you think they can even cause societal changes?
It is not specifically about installations. Art can from the basis for an interesting, meaningful as well as a spritually and politically develloped life. I doubt art in and of itself can be the catalyst of meaningful societal change, for this the basis lies in more material conditions I suspect.

Did you find any art experiences in Helsinki area that you could recommend to the readers of the magazine?
I would recommend actually visiting things in the first place, not necessarily one over the other. Except ‘Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma’, that one was a dissapointment.

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