Ulla Jokisalo’s (b. 1955) exhibition Imaginations of Freedom is an exploration of the ways the artist has exercised her freedom. As a foundation for the show, Jokisalo selected from the HAM Collection six of her works completed between 1983 and 2001. This is not a retrospective exhibition, however, but a new kind of artistic configuration based on a dialogue between older collection works and recent ones produced specifically for this show. The exhibition includes about 60 works completed in 2018.
“Although there have been many changes in my style over the decades, I still build my exhibitions conceptually and on the basis of literary inspiration. My goal artistically is to make every one of my exhibitions a narratively coherent and unified whole,” says Ulla Jokisalo.
Because Jokisalo’s art is typically based on narrativity, each segment of the show is an independent story with its own heading. The titles of individual works also explore the theme of the show, which in the works is expressed in the form of paradoxes, a characteristic feature of Jokisalo’s art. Refusing to confine herself to any one genre, Jokisalo uses a range of different media in her work.
