Hilla Kurki (FI, b. 1985) is a visual artist based in Helsinki, Finland, where she graduated with a Master’s in Art from Aalto University in 2018. Describing her artistic practice as a form of “pragmatic exorcism”, her work follows in a long history of female artists who create as a means to renegotiate the past, reflecting on and recalibrating a series of familial relationships. Most often, Kurki’s projects combine photography with both text and elements of performance.
Exhibited here, Kurki’s Clay Diaries series examines the notion of ‘ghost logic’ in relation to her family history. The artist asks: “What keeps us tied to the past? Love? Trauma? Or is it just a habit, a sedimentation of repeated actions and thoughts?” Inviting a range of fellow artists to visit her great-grandparents house – “to swim, to eat, to mourn, to talk, or simply to be quiet” – Kurki bids to tie herself yet further to this site, building a new archive that connects alternative modes of being with tradition and heritage.
Artist is presented by Vasli Souza Gallery
