Tuomas A. Laitinen has been nominated as a candidate for the prestigious Ars Fennica 2023 Prize. The other candidates are: Henni Alftan (Finland), Lap-See Lam (Sweden), Camille Norment (Norway) and Emilija Škarnulytė (Lithuania).
The Ars Fennica prize is awarded by The Henna and Pertti Niemistö Art Foundation in recognition of individual artistic work of outstanding quality.
The prize sum is 50, 000 euros. The judge for this year will be announced later.
A joint exhibition by the Ars Fennica 2023 candidates will be on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma 8.9.2023–29.1.2024.
The winner of the prize will be announced at the end of 2023.
Ars Fennica 2023 candidate video >>
Artist Tuomas A. Laitinen (b. 1976) works with video installations, sound, glass as well as chemical and microbial processes. He is interested in ecological
issues, the formation of proposals for knowledge, and porous systems. In recent years, Laitinen has been working extensively with octopuses, making
biomorphic glass habitats for these lifeforms. Laitinen's layered and multi-sensorial installations ask questions about the activity and reactions in different ecosystems, moving seamlessly from
microscopical particles to society’s power relationships to mythologies. Laitinen´s works are proposals for contact zones, where different lifeforms and
materials are entangled in shapeshifting continuums. Continuous change and material transparency are key features of the works. Laitinen has been
influenced by science fiction and philosophies that seek to outline a new foundation for coexistence on Earth.
Laitinen´s works have been recently shown in the 21st Biennale of Sydney, 7th Bucharest Biennale, Screen City Biennale 2019 (Stavanger), 1st Helsinki Biennial,
Seoul Mediacity Biennial, Yeh Art Gallery (New York), Vdrome (online screening), SADE LA (Los Angeles), Amado Art Space (Seoul), Moving Image New York, A
Tale of a Tub (Rotterdam), Art Sonje Center (Seoul), Helsinki Contemporary, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art, and
MOCA Shanghai.
For any inquiries please contact our staff >>
Photo | Kuva: Diana Luganski
Share this news