Maaria Wirkkala: AVOPAIKKA – CARTE BLANCE

The title of the show, Open Situation, is a reference to the moment in sports when a player gets a clear shot at the goal. Carte Blanche contains the idea of a status, a moment when nothing has been ruled out and everything is possible.

Maaria Wirkkala’s art cannot be pinned down to any one interpretation. It transforms ordinary objects and spaces, turning the mundane into something elevated, the nostalgic into a looming threat. Apart from the object world, Maaria Wirkkala also works on the immaterial plane: darkness, light and shadow are crucial elements of her art.

Made with charcoal dust blown on the wall, Dream Screen is the centrepiece of the show, a condensation of all images. It gathers into itself the themes of the exhibition, sports and games, the insecurity of the world and the threat of violence.

“I work with things I see and things I don’t want to see,” the artist says.