Pasi Autio: State of Alarm

Pasi Autio examines his surroundings and everyday reality in his works, reflecting on their relationship to the inner world of the mind and imagination. He often combines photographic video imagery with a carefully constructed soundscape, and finds humorous aspects even in serious subjects. In recent years, Autio has been interested in the rhythm and musicality of birdsong, and his work Feel The Heat (2022) and his Bird Disco events have gotten people dancing to the “tweet-tweet beat”. His latest video work, State of Alarm (2025), continues this musical exploration by blending layers of urban and natural sounds. The work’s repetitive and intense soundscape evokes a life-sustaining pulse, but at times also the warnings of emergency vehicles.

The central elements of State of Alarm (6:55 min) are light, darkness, shadowy figures, and rhythm. When light illuminates something, it simultaneously highlights the surrounding darkness. This visual blind spot points to the limited nature of knowledge and opens up the possibility to use your imagination. Does light ultimately illuminate something meaningful, or is its purpose merely to outline the darkness? Due to the rapid alternation of light and darkness, it becomes uncertain what in the image is real and what is illusion.

In his earlier works, Autio has explored themes such as humans’ unequal relationship with the ecosystem, the connection between mind and body, loneliness, temporality, and death. State of Alarm originates from a psychological experience of constant alertness and insecurity. This vague anxiety, recognizable to many, may relate equally to personal everyday life, the global political situation, and the future of humanity amid climate change.

The production of the work has been supported by AVEK and Konstsamfundet. The exhibition is supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.

Thanks: Saku Koistinen, Tuomo Väänänen

Pasi Autio (b. 1974, Vaasa) is a Helsinki-based media artist who works with moving image, sound, performance, and photography. He holds a Master of Fine Arts degree from Aalto University’s photography program, and his works often explore the inner world of thought and its relationship to external reality. Autio’s work has been presented in numerous solo and group exhibitions since 2000, and is included in the collections of HAM Helsinki Art Museum and the State Art Commission of Finland.