Katri Naukkarinen
Hot or Not
25 April–19 May 2024
30 April the exhibitions are open until 4 pm.
May 1 and on Ascension Day May 9 the gallery is closed.
Radioactive materials are often described as hot. The term is misleading in that, under normal conditions, all radioactive radiation is beyond the reach of our senses. Without the possibility of a personal sensory experience, we can only rely on the information provided.
Radioactive decay produces both energy and particles. In her works, Naukkarinen presents ways to approach the phenomenon as both light and matter, making use of scientific and artistic methods, such as analogue audioradiogram prints, a cloud chamber and pearl stringing.
The exhibition reminds us that the phenomenon can be examined from other perspectives besides energy security, environmental disasters, nuclear deterrence and political intrigue. Radioactive radiation is more than an easily burning fire or repressed abject. It does not only exist in abstract entities somewhere far away, it is everywhere, also in us. Above all, it is a natural phenomenon that is present in spite of human activities.
The core aim of the exhibition is to examine the affective dimension of radioactivity through encounters. One can observe the waves between one’s own knowledge, feelings and sensations. What does it feel like when the presence of radioactive radiation becomes almost perceptible? What does it open in us?
Katri Naukkarinen is a multidisciplinary artist who thinks through photography. Her artistic doctoral research at Aalto University examines the limits of human vision and the questions beyond these limits. In addition to her personal work, she is involved in the Atomic Kinship and Helsingin Feministinen Salaseura collectives. Naukkarinen’s works have been on display at group and solo exhibitions in both Finland and abroad, for example at the Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, the Finnish Museum of Photography, Finlandsinstitutets galleri and AIAV.
Thank you
Kone Foundation
Arts Promotion Centre Finland / Arts Council of Uusimaa
Aalto ARTS, Department of Art and Media
Contact information
katri(a)katrinaukkarinen.com
