Emma Helle: Crossing Over

What kind of powers did the frog possess, or what were the duties of the soul bird? The figures of ancient myths and beliefs take on new forms in the hands of Emma Helle. The exhibited works lead the viewer on a journey along the river of the world, between this world and the next, ultimately crossing over to the other side.

Death offers a place to examine feelings of sadness, longing and fear. Images from folk poetry, spells and our common cultural heritage can take us beyond these feelings to a place and a state which in today’s parlance we call magical.

Emma Helle (b. 1979) is a Finnish sculptor whose subjects emanate from ancient mythologies and the tradition of Western art. Helle unsettles our conventional conceptions of the human body and gender roles, often elevating previously forgotten figures into the main subjects of her works. The idioms of her sculptures range from the sprawling abundance of ceramics to the unembellished roughness of wood.

Emma Helle graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at Uniarts Helsinki in 2007. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions, for example in Turku Art Museum, Lahti Museum of Visual Arts Malva, Nationalmuseum in Stockholm and in various galleries in Finland.

Eeva Ilveskoski is the curator of the exhibition.