JOHANNA LECKLINHitwoman 8.8.2009 – 30.8.2009

Is this the female existence? Pleasure-seeking, high-achieving, self-flagellating, letting loose.

This four-film series, shot on cine film consists of four projections titled the Hedonist, the Jumper, Beater-Beaten and Stitches. Each shows a woman engaging herself in an odd and pointless activity; hitting herself on the chin, dangling a bunch of grapes above her head without eating them, sewing her lips shut and pogoing wildly. Self-punishment, self-censorship, the denial of pleasure and the compulsion to achieve - these are all too familiar female traits. And yet they are here balanced by an ecstatic sense of freedom and all-pervading sense of humour. The video series is complemented by photographs exploring similar themes.

The impetus for the series came from the theme given to Human trace, a collective exhibition staged at the Oulu City Art Museum in 2009, curated by art historian Juha-Heikki Tihinen. The idea was to create a piece that would reference one of the collections at the museum. I selected several pieces dating back to the early decades of the 20th century. A common thread running through them is that they all show people on the go, in motion, engaged in an activity.

Johanna Lecklin