Afrikanda – On Machines and Devices
Solo exhibition, Kunsthalle Turku, Turku, Finland
October 3 – 27 2019
The body of new works in this exhibition forms an installation of photographs, sculptures and a video. The starting points are rooted in Kaisu Koivisto’s visits to the abandoned Afrikanda air force base on the Kola Peninsula, in North-Western Russia. According to a legend, the origin of the hybrid name is based on the unusually hot weather in the area during the construction of the railroad.
Koivisto photographs in places which have fallen into oblivion as the targets of world politics and economics shift elsewhere. Her point of view is informed by history and the varied landscape in each place. In these post-industrial vistas the redundant buildings, structures and objects disintegrate gradually. Koivisto explores the material remains and other traces from human interventions such technology and exctracting natural resources, visible in the environment.
Airplanes, cars and space technology are contested symbols of the current era. We observe and experience the world by the means and with technology, involving both high-tech instruments and simple utensils. Koivisto reflects the different kinds of machines and devices which are used to maintain life as well as destroy it, such as fighter aircraft. Much resources are invested in things which become useless in a relatively short period.