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Us and them
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Once every three years something exciting
happens in Jyväskylä – LUMO the International Photography Triennial comes to
town. This year celebrates the 7th LUMO event with the theme of ‘us’ and like the previous six, promises
everything one should expect of an internationally renowned triennial.
The theme of ‘us’ has attracted photographers whose work challenges notions of
communality and identity. The exhibition has been designed to test the
boundaries of cultural preconceptions and socio-political phenomena. This year
photographers are arriving from four different continents to dismantle and
magnify stereotypes of the exotic, pioneer mythologies, forgotten recent
history and the concealed present.
Images and subject matter are both unsettling
and controversial. Particularly in the works of South African artist Pieter
Hugo, where in the series Looking Aside
(2005) we are faced with images such as that of Londiwe Wendy Mkhize. Discomfort arises when the
seemingly ‘white’-skinned girl is recognised for her features as a native South
African. From the perspective of a Northern European it seems difficult to
grasp that the skin colour that is generally accepted and desired in the
Western world is quite literally a disease for those outside the European
genetic paradigm.
Likewise, fellow South African artist Mikhael Subotzky
has produced images which expose what life is like inside and after prison. For
the series Die Vier Hoeke (2005) Subotzky visited Pollsmoor Prison, Nelson Mandela’s former
lock-up, to reveal conditions in which numerous native South African prisoners
are literally piled into single cells. The cells consist of several bunk beds
on which the lucky ones have a chance to sleep. The not-so-lucky ones are
forced to sleep back-to-back on the cold cement floor.
In the works of Cairo-based Lara Baladi cultural-hybridity
is expressed through blends of religious iconography, nature photographs and
pop culture relics. The brightly coloured panoramic montage of Justice for the Mother (2007) draws many associations to the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper album
cover, and not surprisingly the Beatles’ Lone Hearts Club Band has been placed
in this mythological paradise underneath a giant rhinoceros.
The cultural infiltration of communism is subtly
reflected in the works of Cuban photographers José A. Figueroa and Alejandro González. In
the series The Cuban Sixties Figueroa attempts to capture
the rebellious undercurrent of youth who craved for individuality in the face
of mass conformity, and in the series the City
of Havana (2005), González captures quiet reminders of Cuba’s past
political unrest. Lenin
Park is revisited with
its monuments, abandoned equipment and old army trucks that picnicking families
and grazing cows seem oblivious to.
Finally, in addition to Charlotte
Haslund-Christensen’s questioning of authenticity through re-capturing poses of
Danish explorers in Natives: The Danes (2006), Young Finnish Artists of the Year
2007, Jaana and Tiina Penttinen capture the dynamics of family and friend
relations in the confines of cultural protocol in their series Hyvät Tavat (Good
Manners, 2006).
Other featured photographers include Dale
Yudelman (South Africa), Raúl Cordero (Cuba)
and Rana ElNemr (Egypt).
LUMO ’07 ‘us’ runs June 9th
– September 30th, at Gallery Harmonia Jyväskylä.
The British soul singer had already arrived in Finland on Saturday, but never made it to the festival ground in Seinäjoki. According to her manager she suffered such a bad throat ache on Sunday morning (17 June), that a doctor ordered her to go home and get rest.
Amy Winehouse was one of the most anticipated contemporary foreign acts of this year’s festival summer in Finland.
Young Finnish metal band Sturm und Drang took her spot in the festival’s big tent. Remaining performers on Sunday included Scissor Sisters from New York, fellow Americans Lamb of God and Finnish The 69 Eyes and Jonna Tervomaa.
Earlier the event had to put up with cancellations from British band The View and Finnish metal group Stam1na, who also had to pull back because of medical reasons.
Provinssirock is Finland’s biggest rock festival. This year’s other foreign headliners included Patti Smith and Band (USA), Velvet Revolver (USA), Tori Amos (USA), Aiden (USA), The Go! Team (UK), Flogging Molly (USA) and MUCC (Japan).
Amy Winehouse – official website
Related:
newsflash Don Johnson Big Band and Mokoma replace cancelled acts
Provinssirock, Finland’s biggest rock festival, will take place this weekend (15-17 June) in Seinäjoki.
Many of the live performances will be carried on digital TV channel YLE Extra
(14 hours in total) as well as on YleX radio (Fri 6-9 pm, Sat + Sun 2-6
pm – listen live).
The View – official website
Don Johnson Big Band – official website
Stam1na – official website (in Finnish)
Mokoma – official website
YLE Extra (partially in English)
YleX (in Finnish) – live stream
Gulyak won the finals with her interpretation of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. She will take home the 20,000 euro prize mony that comes with the First Prize in the competition.
Second Prize (15,000 euros) went to Roope Gröndahl of Finland after his performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1. He was also the audience’s favourite. Russian Violetta Khachikian ended in third place, winning 10,000 euros.
Marko Mustonen (Finland), Yoonjung Han (South Korea) and Irina Zahharenkova (Estonia) took up fourth, fifth and sixth places respectively. They were each rewarded 4,000 euros.
The competition started on 24 May and concluded with the finals taking place on 6 and 7 June at Helsinki’s Finlandia Hall. The six finalists played with the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Leif Segerstam. Their performances were judged by a seven-member jury led by Gustav Djupsjöbacka.
Besides the top prize, 27-year-old Gulyak also won the Taneli Kuusisto Foundation Prize (1 900 euros) for the best performance of a Finnish piano work. She was awarded the prize for her recital of Joonas Pohjonen’s Bagatelles in the second round of the piano competition.
Sofya Gulyak originates from Kazan, the capital of the Russian republic of Tatarstan. She currently studies in Imola, Italy. In September 2006 she also won the Allegro Vivo International Piano Competition in San Marino.
HELSINKI INTERNATIONAL MAJ LIND PIANO COMPETITION
> Oldest and biggest piano competition in Finland
> Arranged by the Sibelius Academy
> First international edition: 6 – 22 August, 2002
(won by Italian Alberto Nosè)
> First organized as a national piano competition in 1945
> Until the sixties open to students of the Sibelius Academy only
Official website Helsinki International Maj Lind Piano Competition
Sales of the album instantly exceeded the amount of copies needed for platinum in Finland: 30,000.
Fuel for the Fire went straight to Number 1 of the Official Album Chart.
After winning Idols 2007, metal singer Koivunen, nicknamed “HevAri” (Finnish slang for 'heavy metal guy'), immediately got to work with some of the top names of Finnish metal and rock. Composers for his debut album included Marco Hietala (Nightwish), Pauli Rantasalmi (The Rasmus), Timo Tolkki (Stratovarius) and Teräsbetoni’s Jarkko Ahola.
Children of Bodom’s Janne Wirman and Thunderstone members Mirka Rantanen and Nino Laurenne are some of the top musicians that can be heard on the long player.
23-year-old Ari is also part of this year’s line-up at the Sauna Open Air Metal Festival in Tampere. On 27 July he will play Helsinki’s Tavastia Club.
Ari Koivunen's official website (partly in English)
Suomen virallinen lista – Finland’s official album chart.
While there were slightly fewer premieres than in the year before, also the total number of cinema-goers grew in 2006. Nearly 6.7 million tickets were sold, about 600,000 more than in 2005. According to statistics from the Finnish Film Foundation, total box office revenues last year amounted to 50.3 million euros.
The most watched film in 2006 was the Finnish Matti (international title: Matti – Hell Is For Heroes) directed by Aleksi Mäkelä, which drew 461,665 people to Finnish cinemas. The second biggest box office hit in Finland was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest.
OVERALL TOP 5 MOST WATCHED FILMS 2006
1. Matti / Matti – Hell Is For Heroes (FIN; 461 665 admissions)
2. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest (USA; 458 833)
3. Casino Royale (GB/USA; 368 621)
4. The Da Vinci Code (USA; 365 276)
5. Ice Age 2 (USA; 272,104)
TOP 5 DOMESTIC FILMS 2006
1. Matti / Matti – Hell Is For Heroes (461 665 admissions)
2. Kummelin Jackpot / Jackpot (229 511)
3. FC Venus (223 590)
4. Lupaus / Promise (84 389)
5. Jadesoturi / Jade Warrior (79 600)
Source: Facts & Figures 2006, the Finnish Film Foundation