Art show: Hydra Go @ TI-LA 2016

mikkolyytinen (67)in #art • 8 years ago (edited)

TI-LA 2016
Hydra Go

Last week our art group Hydra traveled to Jyväskylä in Middle-Finland to have a five day exhibition at TI-LA 2016 gallery. TI-LA 2016 Is a contemporary art event in Jyväskylä featuring a new artist every week of the year.

From the TI-LA2016 website:

“As referenced by the name, ti-la is about time (ti ”Tuesday” – la ”Saturday”) and tila ”space”. To make history in the year before Finland celebrates its 100th anniversary, we have invited 52 artists (or artist groups) who will freely explore and test new ideas and/or forms of expression in an intense year of art. Through ti-la2016, we would like to make contemporary visual art into an exciting event for the audience/visitors, the artists and the organizers. Short exhibitions will bring new events to the city every week generating in the installation itself, a buzzing energy in the city and the art scene of Jyväskylä. “

Hydra is a group of six artists that all have graduated from the recently abolished Lahti Institute of Fine Arts. Hydra was formed in 2011 in a row house basement in Lahti, that the group had rented as a shared studio. Hydra has held several exhibitions and participated in multiple art events since its creation. The group has worked in variety of mediums and styles from performance to large installations consisting of miniature sculptures. Collaborative platform gives an excellent opportunity to experiment outside everyone’s comfort zone and serves as a welcome distraction from each individual’s career in fine arts. There are no rulers in Hydra – If there is a major decision to be made it is discussed with the group in order for it to move forward; as its mythological paragon, it is a creature with one body and many heads.

The exhibition name of course is a nod to the Pokémon Go phenomenon. The idea was to venture out into the environment to gather materials that we would then bring back to the gallery and create something from it. We did small expeditions almost every day of the week and did our best to document our trips with our smartphones and cameras, doing live streaming and tweeting on the go. We had the bottom floor of the gallery dedicated as workspace where we would transform our discoveries into art.

It is always fascinating to see how everyone’s mind works in different ways producing unique pieces, yet it all somehow manages to tie in together so well. As the week progressed, the clean white walls begin to fill from our creations and found objects. As you enter the gallery you were struck with the diverse fragrance from all the moss, grass, leaves and dirt that we had brought in.

For me this was one of the most intense and most fun experiences we’ve had as a group. You can imagine six people hanging together for almost 24 hours a day, working together and sleeping in a two bedroom apartment.

I hope you have enjoyed this quick glimpse into our work. I appreciate any questions or feedback that you leave in the comments and will answer them to best of my ability.