Veera Kopsala
The Hunter
23.11.-17.12.2023
“I think my exhibition should be called The Hunter.”
“What are they trying to catch?”
“Fish at least and someone’s eye or attention.”
I wanted to say that they hunt men, but I was too embarrassed.
“It’s a good name.”
“I think so too.”
Veera Kopsala (b. 1991, Nurmijärvi) works with sculpture, painting and performance art. The Hunter features Kopsala’s impressive wooden reliefs that she has created using various tools and techniques, including chisels, an angle grinder and an electric saw as well as acrylic paints and watercolors.
Many of the reliefs were inspired by the worlds of the artist’s dramatic works, self-portraits and childhood memories. At the core of the works is physical existence and depicting it as well as intimate spaces, feelings and atmospheres. Kopsala explores how one can be wilder and freer with one’s body, detached from the external gaze. The title piece depicts a woman catching fish in a swimsuit.
Recently Kopsala has been interested in the connections between woodcarving and dramatic work, their differences and similarities. At the moment, the artist’s works can also be seen in the Kajaani City Theatre’s play Anna Liisa. The play features three large wood reliefs (2 m x 2 m) by Kopsala, depicting three generations of women.
Kopsala is currently based in Kajaani. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2022.
I am standing in the shower and come up with the idea of a woman in a swimsuit holding fish in her hands. I increase the water temperature and rinse my entire body. I dry myself and put on a swimsuit, a woolly hat and swimming goggles. I place a camera on the bookshelf and stand in the middle of my studio apartment with imaginary fish in my hands. I get a good shot and then sketch my outlines on a wooden panel at my studio. The idea is a mixture of a childhood photo in which I am posing for the camera with a big fish and the flood of Tinder pictures of fishermen and their fish. I start to carve the Hunter, a determined woman holding fish in her hands.
The exhibition has been supported by: Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Paulo Foundation and Versowood
