Reija Meriläinen: EN GARDE

Reija Meriläinen’s exhibition creates a reactive state filled with tension between the viewer and the work. The anticipation and the attack become manifest in an installation, in which the touch of a blade can change the state of matter. Just as in a fencing match, preparing for what’s to come and anticipating the fight and the touch are as important as what eventually ensues. Time begins to distort and stand still, crawling on and under your skin. Try to survive. Be on your guard.

Reija Meriläinen (born 1987) is an artist who works with moving pictures, installations and sculptures that combine the digital with the corporeal. Her works link social tensions and power to physical and materialistic experiences.

Reija Meriläinen graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from University of the Arts Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts in 2014. The exhibition is part of her Master’s Thesis. Meriläinen’s works have previously been displayed in private exhibitions in Afterglow Galleria FAFA in 2014 as well as in the collective exhibitions Nuoret 2013 in the Kunsthalle and Kesken kaiken in KuvaTila in 2013, among other places.

The exhibition is supported by the Academy of Fine Arts Helsinki.