image: still image from the video piece Reel (2019) J: So I’ve read a whole lot about all kinds of memory disorders and kind of the logic behind them… I’m kind of interested in what happens when things don’t quite go as they’re supposed to. Like, do the same things turn into completely different reels when they’re in a different position. Kind of like changing the order of individual pieces in a series of images… Then I watched a movie where there’s this woman – there’s a scene in which she… Alice, she finds a video of herself in which she says something like “when you see this video, follow the instructions provided in it.” So she made the video for herself when she found out that her memory disorder would get worse, so she kind of wanted to… give herself instructions on what to do. So then she starts following the video’s instructions bit by bit. She keeps forgetting and going back to re-watch the video to find out what she was supposed to do every time she forgets. I’m kind of interested in that perception of reality… and kind of the logic behind it… there’s some kind of logic to it, but it’s kind of skewed. Exhibition text written by Maija Kasvinen Jenni Toikka (born 1983) is a Finnish contemporary artist. The technical characteristics offered by moving images for reconstructing narrative and shaping the perception of time are possibilities that she has explored in numerous works. • Lives in Kontula, Helsinki. • Graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2012. • Several exhibitions and residencies abroad. • Works featured in many collections, such as in Kiasma and EMMA. • New collaborative exhibition with Eeva-Riitta Eerola opening at Maison Louis Carré in France in September. • Part of the ten-person Osteri art collective, which operates within the framework of chance, most recently at the Sideways festival. The exhibition and the realisation of Reel were supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and the Greta and William Lehtinen Foundation. Jenni Toikka’s artistic work in 2018–2019 has been funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation’s Central Fund and Uusimaa Regional Fund. For further information, please visit: www.jennitoikka.com
