Minkki Nurmi, Vulnerability is coming, 2021
Minkki Nurmi is a queer, nonbinary and neuro-divergent visual artist and gardener. They work with personal emotions, experiences and situations, which get documented in their work.
I am fascinated by memories from my childhood in the ’90s. I remember that there were posters around Finland back then (and later on), attached to various places by some religious groups. The posters said in bold capital letters “JESUS IS COMING ARE YOU READY” written in Finnish. I remember that as a kid these posters’ apocalyptic vibe made me feel uneasy, but as I grew older I became interested in the idea of kind of an anarchistic statement of something non-specific that is happening or going to happen. Vulnerability is coming is my softer, feminist version of this.
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READI did the work improvising it along the way during spring and summer 2021. The picture resembles a message or a notice board. There are small bits of drawing/painting/text done on a piece of paper that I had with me for some months in my backpack. I liked the idea that the image and the paper have aged - that the passing of time has left its marks on the work.
It is Only the End of the World
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READI find the topic of artist residencies and friendships very personal and relevant for me as an artist. At any residence, time always seems to run out and eventually, people leave for different roads. The image hints at moments where activities have been interrupted: food is on the table, sketches and supplies are wide open, and the outdoor space flows into the interior.
Five timeframes, countless companionships
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READA specimen-style diagram on flower assemblage in preparation for ‘rooting’ delves into the topics of how to re-assemble oneself to set roots somewhere. Do we change ourselves and re-assemble our features to be allowed to remain in the garden, or do we tend a small corner in a garden of our own? Often ‘belonging’ is a concept that exists within change. We can belong to many contradictory concepts, not necessarily following a specific blueprint.
Assembly Plant, 2022
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READWhat if nothing doesn’t actually ever get ruined? Or at least not that bad. Maybe it just finished completely different than you thought.
Mitäpä jos (What if)