F2F: New Media Art from Finland

October 10 - November 4, 2001

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW

The Art Gallery of Ontario, InterAccess Electronic Media Arts Centre and the Design Exchange are proud to present F2F: New Media Art from Finland, as part of TranzTech 2001: The Toronto International Video Art Biennial.

Three works will be presented at the Art Gallery of Ontario:

The name Marita Liulia is perhaps the most easily recognizable in this group of Finnish artists. Famous for her popular, and pioneering, 1996 CD-ROM entitled "Ambitious Bitch,"Liulia presents its sequel, SOB, here. An exploration of masculinity, the project takes users into the apartment of psychoanalyst Jack L. Froid, where they become involved in a game-like exploration of ideas about the modern man.

Multiple users and the social behaviours that emerge through participation in technologically mediated situations are a central concern of all the works in this multi-site exhibition. Teijo Pellinen's Aquarium, for instance, involves the audience in an interactive television show about the lives of two sleepless singles - Ari and Eira - who can't make up their minds about what to do. Using a telephone to connect with the characters, the audience can help them make decisions and influence the development of their story.
Heidi Tikka's Mother, Child, invites the exhibition visitor to participate in a simulated experience of cradling, feeding and bonding with an infant. The projected image of the baby responds to both the movements of the person engaging directly with the work and to the people in the surrounding space. Through its computer-controlled behaviour, the video projection of the baby gains a lifelike aspect that both simulates intimacy and extends the arena of interaction beyond a single "user."

F2F was curated by Marko Tandefelt, in collaboration with Bryn Jayes. The production was coordinated by Juulia Kauste. The exhibition has been presented in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. The exhibition design is by Ilkka Suppanen , the artistic director of the acclaimed Snowcrash design group.

F2F has been organized by the Finnish Foundation for the Visual Arts, in collaboration with the Embassy of Finland in Washington D.C. The Toronto exhibition has been realized in cooperation with the Embassy of Finland in Ottawa. It has been made possible by the generous support of Sonera, Unisys, and William and Gloria Jackson. Additional support has been provided by the Ministry of Education in Finland, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Finland, The Arts Council of Finland, DPS Inc. and Apple Finland.