PHOTOGRAPHIC GALLERY HIPPOLYTE
Kalevankatu 18 B, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
+358 9 612 33 44, www.hippolyte.fi
Open: tue-fi 12:00-17:00, sat-sun 12:00-16:00 (on the Night of the Arts, Fri 21 Aug: 12:00-22:00)14.8.–6.9.2009
Hannele Romppanen
BEING BESIDEIn my exhibition, I explore the theme of 'being beside' using photography, video and performance. The project reflects my own personal experiences of everyday life spent in a nursing home and a hospice for the terminally ill. In addition to my family members, the main characters in my works are the clients of nursing homes and hospices as well as those who stay at their bedside. These compassionate companions include spouses, friends and volunteer workers, as well as family caretakers, practical nurses and terminal care nurses.
The first photograph in the BEING BESIDE series was taken in 2007 in the Karina Hospice for the terminally ill, where I photographed 'last portraits' of the clients with their relatives. Returning to the theme after a number of years has, along with the people I have photographed, changed also my own perspective previously coloured by personal loss into one focusing more on togetherness.
In addition to shared moments, my exhibition also examines old age and the fragility and unpredictability of social contacts within the services provided by society for the elderly. In the midst of efficient service production, it is difficult to define or to put a price on that invisible time of presence spent beside another person. Yet that 'real life' brought in by social contacts and the opportunity to participate here and now is a vital element of a dignified old age. As local governments seek to solve the economic recession through temporary and permanent lay-offs while the number of people over 70 is growing rapidly, carework and old-age care are facing great challenges.
The show also includes Mediaperformance STUNT: In the live performance Act VI – Fight Against Amnesia , the Stunt(wo)man steps into the life of elderly people, inviting them to join the performance and share a cup coffee with her on the STUNT stage.
A book will also be released in connection with the exhibition. "51 hetkeä, 29 omakuvaa" (51 Moments, 29 Self-Portraits) consists of circular pinhole photographs taken by me and drawing made by my late sister, artist Maritta Romppanen. Most of the photographs and drawings were made when my sister had cancer and we spent time together at home, in hospital wards and at a terminal care hospice: during this period – nine months – my sister drew endless self-portraits as well as portraits of her family and friends, and I documented the moments with my pinhole camera. Book launch: 27 August at 5 p.m. in Photographic Gallery Hippolyte.
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MEDIAPERFORMANCE STUNT. Act VI – Fight Against Amnesia
Stunt(wo)man: Helena Romppanen, director: Hannele Romppanen
Performances:
On 13 August during the exhibition opening and on 21 August during the Night of the Arts at 17:00.
Also on Sundays 16 and 30 August and 6 September at 13:00.
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The book “51 hetkeä, 29 omakuvaa”
Photographs, text and layout by Hannele Romppanen
Drawings by Maritta Romppanen
Text by Taina Erävaara
Digital manipulation and colour separation by Petri Kuokka
Publisher: Kustannus Oy Taide
Hardbound, 96 pages, dimensions appr. 160 x 160 x 20mm
Orders and review copies: Kustannus Oy Taide, Punavuorenkatu 4 B 2, 00120 Helsinki, tel: +358-9-684 00 610, Pessi Rautio, managing director, firstname.lastname@artists.fi
The book has received State Quality Support for Photographic Publications from the National Council for Photographic Art.
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Acknowledgements:
Arts Council of Finland, National Council for Photographic Art, Kone Foundation / Saari Residence, Karinakoti Hospice and the nursing homes of Koivulehto, Häävuori and Portsakoti, project participants
Mediaperformance STUNT, 2008- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte Celebrates Its 30th Anniversary
Thirty years passed in December 2008 since the opening of Photographic Gallery Hippolyte. The gallery celebrates its anniversary year from 4 December 2008 to 29 November 2009 with a programme that includes exhibitions, a photographic festival, a cross-disciplinary art event and a residency. The anniversary events of Photographic Gallery Hippolyte are part of the Year of Photography 2009 programme. www.katse.orgPhotographic Gallery Hippolyte’s anniversary year has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
Alfred Kordelin Foundation has supported the Year of Photography 2009.- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Information and press images:
Petronella Grönroos, exhibitions co-ordinator
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, +358 9 612 33 44, firstname.lastname@hippolyte.fi
www.katse.org
