ERNO ENKENBERGWe Were Promised to be Taken Care Of 29.4.2017 – 21.5.2017
ERNO ENKENBERG
What would the world be like
without adults?
Erno Enkenberg´s second
exhibition at Galleria Heino features paintings and installations depicting an
imaginary world from which all adults have disappeared.
In the series of works We
Were Promised to be Taken Care Of, children
have been left to their own devices, with no authorities or guidance. In the
fantasy world of the paintings, children are cultivating a garden, learning
about the bygone world in libraries and reading the constellations, trying to
build a bridge between history and their present reality. Gone are the concepts
created and maintained by adults, such as states, brands and money. These
concepts, which are based on a social contract, have made it possible for
humans to organise as large groups and operate in collaboration with strangers.
The children in the paintings have to come up with new narratives and concepts
to create conditions for their survival together.
Enkenberg´s paintings begin
as paper models, which he arranges into something that looks like a miniature
film set. When the miniature set is ready, Enkenberg´s studio turns into a
photography studio. He photographs the model in different lighting and arranges
the set with the final painting in mind. Once the model set is photographed,
the photography studio becomes a painter´s atelier. The process has many stages
and is time consuming. Painting is only one part of the process, foregrounded and
served by the preceding stages.
In addition to paintings,
the exhibition also features an installation where viewers can step inside the
world of the children. In the installation, the children live in an imaginary
art museum which they have appropriated and made their home. While the world of
this exhibition has no adults or organised society, its theme is more about the
joy of exploring and searching rather than a scary dystopia that offers no
sense of security. Enkenberg uses his works to ask the question: What kind of
world are we leaving for our children?
Timo Riitamaa
Visual artist Erno Enkenberg (b. 1975) gained MA from
the Academy of Fine Arts in 2010. He has also studied in Wimbledon School of Art
(1997-2001) and Free Art School (1997-1998). We Were Promised to be Taken Care Of is inspired by Yuval Noah
Harari's books Sapiens and Homo Deus.
Enkenberg´s previous solo exhibition, Kosmos (2014), discussed
the history of astronomy and the impact that the development of the science has
had on shaping the world view of humans. Since Kosmos,
Enkenberg´s works have been seen in group exhibitions in
Finland, Sweden, Denmark and the UK.
Thanks to: Arts Promotion Centre Finland.