February 13–April 12, 2015
Exhibition Laboratory
Merimiehenkatu 26
00150 Helsinki
Finland
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 11–18h
Laboratory of Hearing focuses on the way sound relates to spatiality in exhibitions and their surrounding contexts. It is the first exhibition of the Exhibition Laboratory, the multidisciplinary exhibition centre of the University of the Arts Helsinki, Academy of Fine Arts. Over a period of two months it will explore how sound functions as a means of artistic expression, and how it can be used to transform and manipulate space. One aspect of this will involve looking at the roles curators, artists and exhibitions play in society, and how what they do can reflect—and affect—wider theoretical and socio-political issues.
The title of the exhibition was taken from the 1917 Laboratory of Hearing created by Dziga Vertov, a Russian pioneer of documentary film, newsreel director and cinema theorist. The exhibition is curated and directed by Barbara Vanderlinden, Professor of Exhibition Studies and Spatiality at the Academy of Fine Arts and Director of the Exhibition Laboratory; in collaboration with a curatorial team consisting of Andrew Bentley, Ulrika Ferm and Gregoire Rousseau. The guest curator Petri Kuljuntausta, a musician, composer, sound artist and author, has compiled a micro-history of early Finnish electronic music, presenting works by composers such as Erkki Kurenniemi and Katri Nironen.
The Laboratory of Hearing is accompanied by an extensive series of conversations and public talks focusing on the potential of sound and sound-based experiences. These will involve students, artists, musicians, critics and curators. Hou Hanru, Caroline Basset, Florent Caron Darras, Mark Fell, Hamza Nasraoui aka Dawan and El-Mahdi Rezoug aka El Mahdy Jr. will be among those participating. Laboratory of Hearing will continue after the exhibition as an online radio podcast programme.
The project has been organized by the Academy of Fine Arts in association with the following study programmes of the University of the Arts Helsinki: Time and Space Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts, Sound Design at the Theatre Academy Helsinki, Music Technology at the Sibelius Academy, and the cross-disciplinary programme SAMA (Sound Art & Sonic Arts Education).
Participating artists, musicians and curators:
Younes Baba Ali, Caroline Basset, Florent Caron Darras, Monika Czyzyk, Mark Fell, Tommi Grönlund and Petteri Nisunen, Tuukka Haapakorpi, Russel Haswell, Jean-Louis Huhta, Henrik Heinonen, Hou Hanru, Bengt Johansson, Reijo Jyrkiäinen, Minna Kallinen, Erkki Kurenniemi, Antti Kytömäki, Alejandro Montes De Oca, Josué Moreno Prieto, Seppo Mustonen, Hamza Nasraoui aka Dawan, Katri Nironen, Alejandro Olarte, El-Mahdi Rezoug aka El Mahdy Jr and Kati Roover
The Exhibition Laboratory of the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki is a newly established multidisciplinary exhibition centre for students, scholars, artists, curators and other arts professionals as well as the wider public. It is devoted to the study and advancement of contemporary art and related arts and sciences. Its thematic programme of exhibitions, conversations, lectures and publications is intended to inspire new ideas and new exhibition forms, expanding the way we think about art and bringing vitality to its history and practice in the 21st century.
Exhibitions generated by the Laboratory will either take place in its 700-square-meter exhibition space, its 180-square-meter Project Room or on external sites. The Laboratory’s webpages will be fully developed later in the year.
Contact
Barbara Vanderlinden, Professor of Exhibition Studies and Spatiality & Director of Exhibition Laboratory: [email protected] / T +358 40 8609 519
