Henriikka Kontimo

Tampere-based artist Henriikka Kontimo is spending her time at the residence continuing her work on a text-based, spectator-driven, interactive piece created a few years ago which deals with the similarities and differences between our relationship with nature and a significant human other. In addition, she would like to create a work designed specifically for the Saari Residence. Henriikka is currently studying to become a cabinet-maker and, during her time in Saari, intends to also ponder ways to combine carpentry with her artistic work.

The way she works is usually tied to the place and situation, and she is interested to see how the residence as a place and social situation can inspire her. “It’s wonderful – unlike in my everyday life – to be able to focus in peace solely on my own artistic work. I have worked in many residencies, and those periods have been extremely important for my work and my development. A new environment generates new ideas and new connections with old ideas. I hope I will be able to complete some unfinished things and start new ones during my residency,” says Henriikka. ” In Saari, I have particularly enjoyed the long walks and how far you can see here; how expansive the landscape is.”

In the early stages, Henriikka’s artistic work usually takes place at the level of thoughts and ideas. “I turn my works over in my mind for a long time and give them a conceptual form before they achieve their tangible, physical shape. When I engage in thinking or I’m writing, I prefer to work in periods of two, three hours and between them I take a walk, feed myself, meditate, knit my jumper and read. I let my brain rest. When I’m working on the physical implementation of the work, on the other hand, I may carry on for long periods at a time,” she says.

Henriikka Kontimo (born 1981) is a Finnish visual artist who graduated from the department of space-time art at Uniarts Helsinki in 2008. She is currently studying cabinetmaking at the Ikaalinen College of Crafts and Design.

http://www.henriikkakontimo.com/