Dramatized kinetic sculpture
Duration 6min 20sec

The exhibition consists of a moving sculpture, in which the steps of rubber boots cause movement in a puddle. The artist has acted as the director of the work, but the end result is the sum of light and matter.

The work plays with the poetry of something happening, where the fascination with a phenomenon intertwines with the associations and allegories it might spawn, and human clumsiness.

The title of the exhibition, Fata Morgana, refers to a complex optical phenomenon that occurs at sea when, for instance, an island or boat appears to be floating above the surface of the water. It is as if gravity is behaving in a peculiar way at that precise spot.

The work in the exhibition originated in 2022 in the Archipelago Sea, on the island of Korpo, at the Pro Artibus artist residency at the Archipelago Center Korpoström. There, Wager’s interest in marine phenomena became a starting point for her artistic work. Wager is particularly interested in the formal language of water and its multifaceted internal and external effects.

The exhibition has been supported by Pro Artibus, The Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Svenska Kulturfonden and Svenska Konstsamfundet.

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Mechanics and electronics: AJ-group, Alain Ryckelynck

Sound: Kaj Wager

Materials: rubber boots, water, light, sound, mechanics, electronics, plastic mat, fishing line, fishing rod weights, spinners, rubber band.

Thanks: to my father, mother and brother for their help and support<3. Anna Uschanov, Tuuli Toivola, Carolina Von Schantz, Elina Rantasuo, Rabbe Sandström, Kristin Wiking and Artur Närvänen for their insightful thoughts and help!

Ninni Wager (MFA) is a multidisciplinary media artist focusing on poetic interpretations of phenomena through sculpture and video. She has graduated from the faculty of Time and Space Arts at the Academy of Fine Arts of Uniarts Helsinki and studied multimedia art and painting at the Swedish University of Applied Sciences in Nykarleby. Wager is a member of artist associations MUU ry, YÖ ry and FKSE (HU). She has collaborated with various artistic collectives, such as the artist duo Airbakers, artist group The Randomroutines, and visual artists Anita Naukkarinen and Kristin Wiking. Wager’s works have been exhibited at Ateneum Art Museum in Helsinki, Porvoo Kunsthalle, Műcsarnok Kunsthalle, Kiscelli Museum in Budapest, and the Independent Art Fair in Athens, among others.