SAMI LUKKARINENHot or Not? 18.2.2005 – 6.3.2005

Boobytrap from series Hot or Not?, 2004
oil on canvas
130 x 110 cm

Hot or Not? is a series of painting of Finns who have uploaded pictures of themselves to Internet service sites for criticism. These sites contain hundreds of thousand of images, which in an honest and interesting fashion reveal how people see and wish to present themselves. In other words, the paintings are akin to portraits of individuals' images that have become public through the Internet. The exhibition also contains my first ever self-portrait.

In my art, I examine the relationship between digital image and painting. I believe digital images offer remarkable new opportunities to the art of painting. I use Photoshop image editing software to edit the images I have selected. I reduce the amount of information contained in the images, thus increasing the size of the pixels and bringing out more clearly the colour information. The final painting is created on either canvas or acrylic sheet on the basis of the edited images. I paint each pixel separately and seek to replicate the colour tones of the digital images as faithfully as possible. The materiality and slowness of painting provide a stark contrast to the swiftness, infinite number and lightness of the digital image.

I have been using digital images as a starting point for my paintings since 1999. Earlier projects have involved trains covered in graffiti, modern architecture and spam, the scourge of email.

Sami Lukkarinen

 
  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_boobytrap

    Boobytrap from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on canvas
    130 x 110 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Buuzigirl

    Buuzigirl from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on acrylic glass
    124 x 106 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Jasu-69

    Jasu 69 from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on canvas
    138 x 171 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Pikkupanta

    Pikku Panta from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on acrylic glass
    106 x 116 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Sporttipete

    Sporttipete from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on canvas
    180 x 98 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_S-4-Ra

    s4Ra from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on acrylic glass
    84 x 63 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Supercat

    Supercat from series Hot or Not?, 2004
    oil on canvas
    170 x 93 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Omakuva

    Self-portrait from series Hot or Not?, 2005
    oil on acrylic glass
    106 x 100 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Laura-1

    Laura from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    93 x 75 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_laura-2

    Laura from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    93 x 72 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Laura-3

    Laura from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    105 x 84 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Laura-4

    Laura from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    93 x 75 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Ning

    Ning (Thai bride) from series Junk Mail, 2004
    oil on canvas
    182 x 100 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Tuen

    Tuen (Thai bride) from series Junk Mail, 2004
    oil on canvas
    165 x 120 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Russian-1

    Russian bride 1 from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    76 x 100 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_russian-2

    Russian bride 2 from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    129 x 38 cm

  • lukkarinen/2005/lukkarinen_Russian-3

    Russian bride 3 from series Junk Mail, 2003
    oil on acrylic glass
    78 x 51 cm

 
 
 
 
 
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