From April 7th, and due to public demand extended to May 30th, local artist Jenni Österlund, is showing her work in an exhibition titled, The Female Urge To Identify As A Garden in the Tritonia art space. Jenni is an active board member of Platform art, and has experience with experience in music. Here, we have the pleasure to present an interview with her in which she describes her earlier life, career journey and current work.
Who are you and where do you come from?
My name is Jenni Österlund, I am a fiber artist, performer, cultural worker and DJ based in Vasa. I come from a small town in Pedersöre. Growing up in a small town context has definitely influenced my work and in many ways I am always seeking that connection to my surroundings and a way to coexist in more urban places.
How long have you been practicing art?
I have been practicing art professionally for four years. I graduated with my Bachelors from Novia University of Applied Science in 2021.
How did you start, and why?
I come from a background in music, but I always felt like my ideas and ambitions didn’t fit in the restrictions of making music. Therefore I chose to study art instead of music, which was the initial idea. In the field of art I had the space to explore all perspectives of my creative ambitions and during several occasions I have also been able to bring in elements of sound and music into my work.
What is your current exhibition about?
My current exhibition The Female Urge To Identify As A Garden is a deconstructed post-garden installation made in recycled paper and textile. The work presents a metaphorical landscape where the different layers of the garden present a feminine space. The garden has historically functioned as a place of female freedom and self-exploration, and the many layers of the garden can still be used today as a tool for self-exploration and identification.
If there’s one take-away you would want people to gain when seeing your exhibition – what is it?
I guess the importance with any of my exhibitions is that it awakens thoughts and questions in people. I hope that people don’t just read my version of the work, but create their own personal understanding and experience around the theme and works. In a way I feel like as soon as the work is exhibited it doesn’t belong to me anymore, it belongs to anyone who takes part of it and therefore everyone is free to create their own understanding around it.
What does it mean to have a space like Tritonia?
By exhibiting in Tritonia I face a different audience than in a regular gallery, this will probably create a different reception of the work.
Art belongs in public spaces just as much as in galleries, but I think the importance of showing art in a public place is that anyone can take part in it, not just people who feel entitled to move around in a gallery space. Public spaces are more inclusive spaces to present art.
