SET is a holistic, spatial work where painted plywood structures form various layers in the space, allowing the visitor to move in between them. SET is a fleeting staging of nature – a temporary concretization of dreams and images. The focus of the work lies in the physical gesture, how the work emphasizes the artist’s and viewer´s presence and relationship to the surrounding space and the world.

In SET, Sirén continues to explore structures that relate to the concepts of nature and landscape, spatiality and presence. This spatial sketch, made of wooden structures and painted surfaces, serves as a suggestion; here one could imagine this kind of landscape, plant, or tree. Our world is increasingly man-made and nature, as well as landscape, are merely seen as resources and backdrops for human life. A coulisse means a physical stage flat or façade, something that is visible to others and gives an enhanced version of reality. Also, in selfie culture, the surrounding landscape is often conquered, cropped, and enhanced making it the backdrop for our self-portraits.

Traditionally, a painting can be seen as a window that transfers the viewer´s thoughts to a place chosen by the artist. In the work SET, the viewer is physically transferred into the painted and constructed surrounding. Like botanical gardens around the world, the work is a man-made, collage-like representation of nature. The trees and plants are chosen through the artist´s own preferences and are based on model images from online image banks which e.g. architects use in their illustrative drawings and proposals. In the work, the artists’ longing for travel and nature is set into the space. The aim is not to build a space that mimics nature but rather emphasizes the aspiration and desire to construct nature.

The exhibition has been supported by the Arts Promotion Center Finland.

Pia Sirén (b. 1982) creates large-scale temporary spatial works using common construction materials, as well as sculptures, performative projects, and collaborations. Her works, realized both indoors and outdoors, are often spatially and materially engaging installations that you can enter and become part of. Sirén has completed her MFA at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in Helsinki (FI) in 2012. She has had several solo and group shows in Finland and abroad.

The artist will be present at the gallery on Sunday 27 February 2022 between 2pm–4pm.