New Directions May Emerge

By envisioning various speculative futures, Helsinki Biennial: New Directions May Emerge brings together 29 international artists and collectives to explore alternative ways of living in, and understanding, the world. Curated by Joasia Krysa with five curatorial collaborators, the second edition engages with some of the pressing issues of our time, addressing environmental damage, political conflict and the impact of technology. On view until September 17, 2023, the biennial comprises around 50 percent new commissions and site-specific works that span installation, sculpture, film and performance. The biennial is produced by HAM Helsinki Art Museum.

Juhana Vartiainen, the Mayor of Helsinki, says:
“We are proud of our international biennial which showcases Helsinki’s cultural richness and spirit to the world. This year, Helsinki Biennial will be even closer to the people of Helsinki so that each resident and visitor will be able to experience art and be inspired by it. Art and culture are a great asset and source of pride for us; by bringing them to the heart of the city, we can spark conversations and strengthen community, togetherness and creativity—the very things that Helsinki is built upon.”

Arja Miller, director of HAM, says:
“Helsinki Biennial, now launching its second edition, has become an intrinsic part of what HAM does. The biennial is both internationally ambitious while remaining a truly local event realised through the shared efforts of HAM and the City of Helsinki. Global challenges, such as biodiversity loss and the climate crisis, affect us all. In this time, we need fresh ways of understanding, perceiving, and finding answers to difficult questions. Artists have a special skill to give new forms to history, places, feeling, and thought: their artworks can represent the present and create the future, inviting visitors to gain new points of view, insight, and at times, consolation.”

Helsinki Biennial 2023 expands across Vallisaari Island, HAM and the wider city
Works by Diana Policarpo, Bita Razavi, Tabita Rezaire, Tuula Närhinen and INTERPRT take over the large arched halls and a gallery space at HAM Helsinki Art Museum. Located in the city’s Market Square, Dineo Seshee Bopape’s work evokes connections to land and family through a new departure: a billboard in sculptural form made of rammed earth that is textured with organic material and rocks of various sizes. 

Helsinki Biennial also returns to Vallisaari, a former military island that is the most diverse natural and recreational destination in the Helsinki archipelago. 15 artworks are situated on the island, both outdoors and within its historical gunpowder cellars, each operating in subtle dialogue with the surrounding environment and its unique ecosystem. 

Technoshamanic Systems by Suzanne Treister presents hypnotic visions of our potential communal futures living alongside possible extraterrestrial entities or civilizations. Installed in a wooden cabin, the installation presents 185 watercolour paintings accompanied by an AR component which makes Treister’s visions appear to float high up in the sky. 

Jenna Sutela’s Pond Brain, a water-filled bronze bowl expanding upon the shape of the artist’s head, is an instrument inviting the viewer to rub it in order to make it ‘sing’. When played, it interacts with sound produced using machine learning technology to create an ever-emerging soundscape based on signals from the wider environment, including sounds from outer space and under the sea.  

Joasia Krysa, curator of Helsinki Biennial 2023, elaborates:

“The biennial takes its point of departure from Vallisaari Island, the regenerative energy of multispecies landscapes, and data which is manipulated by algorithms. It gathers ideas from an eclectic mix of influences—from natural science and cosmology, the supernatural and artificial intelligence, data science and science fiction, the sense-making practices of humans and nonhumans, the actions of sentient and other worldly beings—to identify some of the conditions through which new directions may emerge.”

See all artists and artworks here.