Death by breath: coronavirus, art and change
Death by breath. – Blind Spot Society IV, by Ulla Karttunen, 2012, pigment on acrylic and aluminium, diasec, 60x80cm.
”Everything feels new, unbelievable, overwhelming. At the same time, it feels as if we’ve walked into an old recurring dream.” – The previous quote is not about a surrealist work of art but about reality; Peter C. Baker writes in the Guardian about the coronavirus.
When I was looking for works for the coronavirus-themed exhibition Art in Time of Emergency (from March 26th to June 9th 2020 at Artsy), I noticed that many, perhaps too many of my works seem to be related to this time of the deadly virus.
Working with themes like death and love, or the meaning of existence, has long been out of date. Suffering, loss and death, as well as the feeling of the presence of a miracle, have long been too pathetic themes for contemporary art that wants to stay close to cool jokes.
The series Blindspot Society I-VI is from the year 2012, so 8 years before the world became a surreal scene of death and lockdowns. This series does not only illustrate the virus itself but can also be seen as a metaphorical interpretation of today’s atmosphere.
Coronavirus or magic crystal ball from eight years ago? – a detail of Blindspot Society III, 2012, by Ulla Karttunen
Many aspects of our viral times are there in the series Blindspot Society:
° invisible secret spreading of something we do not know thoroughly ° dying bodies ° isolation, quarantine, social distancing ° deserted empty places ° sense of anxiety ° masked faces ° reality turned strange ° horror film atmosphere ° fiction turned alive ° blind spots of society (social inequality, lacks in health care or elderly care etcetera) becoming visible ° old world order breaking down, new reality emerging
With the coronavirus, the unreal has become part of the true reality.
In the series Blindspot Society, historical palace views serve as a metaphor for the surrealism of today’s market-based society. The luxurious over-aestheticization of palaces is comparable to the endless stream of seductive products under advanced capitalism.
The almost global assumption that the world is a stream of pleasure and entertainment has now been replaced by the scenes of destruction, suffering, and death. What will change? Hopefully not only a forced temporary improvement on climate change and over-consumption but also the creation of a new order. The question of what is essential to existence must be raised again, both in art and in society.
What is this strange virus that is secretly spreading everywhere? – Blindspot Society III, by Ulla Karttunen, 2012, pigment on acrylic and aluminium, diasec, 60x80cm.
Waiting in the corner of the known world. Waiting to know what this unknown is. – Blindspot Society I, by Ulla Karttunen, 2012, pigment on acrylic and aluminium, diasec, 60x80cm.
Keep distance and protect yourself – Blindspot Society II, by Ulla Karttunen, 2012, pigment on acrylic and aluminium, diasec, 60x80cm.
All these beautiful shoes and nobody to make jealous of them – Blindspot Society V, by Ulla Karttunen, 2012, pigment on acrylic and aluminium, diasec, 60x80cm.
A scream in empty salons and offices. – Blindspot Society VI, by Ulla Karttunen, 2012, pigment on acrylic and aluminium, diasec, 60x80cm.
erään kadonneen kirkon tapaus [[ neitsythuorakirkko ]] 