Taru Liikanen, Temptation, 5-29 July 2022

 

Ink paintings from the obscure side of Temptation Island

Art Exhibition: 5-29 July 2022
Café Bar No 9, Helsinki

The Temptation -painting series reflects on the representations and normes of love in a relationship. Special attention is given to moments where one's hopes and expectations collide with action. Temptation Island is a reality tv-series where participating couples are split between two islands and they only get to see each other's conduct through edited videos, on a screen with headphones on.

Often in these clips the couples find their partner behaving in a strange, unfamiliar way. If being loved means also being seen by the other, how come in these videos the couples barely recognize each other? What seems to block their vision? Is it so, that a person in love only sees what they want to see? Can the narrow cultural norms of gender and sexuality keep us from true connection? Is it ever possible to really see or know another person?

In this hallway of mirrors and screens, what is the part of the spectator?

Taru Liikanen (M.A.) studies the relation of cinematic image and painting, representations of romantic love, and especially representations of women.
All paintings in this exhibition are painted with ink on paper.

 

  • ARTIST: Taru Liikanen
  • EXHIBITION TIMING: 07 / 2022
  • TECHNIQUE: Ink on paper
  • EXHIBITION SIZE: 10+ pieces

 

 

Purchase art from the 'Temptation' collection

 

This collection of 10+ works by Taru Liikanen (MA) studies the themes of seeking love, cinema, and art. Moments from the reality TV series Temptation Island Suomi, where expectations and beautiful promises meet behavior and actions. Techniques used include ink on paper, with varied sizes.

Meanings that are unattainable with other methods than art are the realm of Taru Liikanen. She is an artist and educator by heart and training. Her artwork explores and builds upon concepts that are ever-present in cinema: hopes, dreams, fears, love, and contradiction. She has a special focus on the portrayal of women in film. Similar to how cinema brings to life concepts of fantasy, Liikanen's art brings to life that which is otherwise under the surface, unseen, yet often intimately felt.