Abstract fear can be recognized, even though pinpointing the feeling is difficult. 

Describing the impact of its intensity, and the sense of emptiness it evokes, is considerably harder than it is for physical sensations, which have a more tangible form. Such impressions are often so layered that it is difficult to connect with any concrete object, time, or event — even something experienced first-hand.

Strange is an attempt to create a set of circumstances for depicting feelings that are difficult to put into words, to conceptualize them by giving them a form, to rationalize them, and to subject them to critical scrutiny.

Although the work is merely a depiction of the mind—and further removed from actuality by appearing as shadows, transforming matter into concepts—my aim has been to preserve the work’s immediacy to reality, to refocus attention on seemingly self-evident things and bring them to light. Even if the things depicted were not real, experiencing them can attune us to our own reality.

As a visual artist I build moments in which new kinds of relationships between the viewer and their environment are formed. An aesthetic experience can serve as a catalyst that transforms the relationship between the viewer and their environment. At its best, the experience can lead to new ways of perceiving.

– Simo Ripatti

This exhibition has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation. 

Simo Ripatti (b. 1975) is a visual artist who graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts, Helsinki in 2011 and from the Lahti University of Applied Sciences in 2009. In his practice, he illustrates topics that are difficult to put into words using understated and subtle means, often using space as an active element.