Johanna Pöykkö
- Textile and Fibre Art
- Visual Art
- Artist
- Teacher
- Pohjois-Pohjanmaa
- Competent
I am a visual artist / textile artist wrapped in sheet fabric. It has been used as material for a long time, sometimes playing a supporting role and in recent years playing the main role again. Sheet fabrics form a tapestry of memories, where hidden messages are intertwined with the lightness of spatial experience.
In my works, attention is often drawn to repeated incision and working with the material, doing the work. As an artist, working with my hands means interacting with material and thoughts. Manual work conveys important information. Repetition, the rhythm of the work, moves the thought and the whole work forward. As an artist, I am present in the work.
Experience
Work experience
Education
University of Art and Design Helsinki
Master of Arts
2000 – 2006
University of Helsinki
Master of Education
1997 – 2003
Works
Installation 300x300x400cmSerigraphy and painting on coated sheet fabric, incision, fans.
Colourful Hurricane is an installation about expectations and wishes. The hurricane is coming somewhere and going to somewhere. The art process proceeds in a similar way. The result of a long thought process crystallizes into a visible process under the influence of some stimulus, which may also still be going somewhere.The colourful hurricane was born for an invited exhibition at Porvoo Artists’ Association’s Gallery Fikka.
Installation
Metal frame, old sheets, braiding
The cycle of insomnia. The memory of sleep and insomnia. Human marks on the sheet, turning, depressions, dampness, ballast. I have used 300kg old sheets. It consist memory of the 240 000 night.
Off-loom weavingWeaving
Cut sheet, metal needles. 400x300x25cm.
The idea for the work was born in early 2023. While the war of aggression in Ukraine continues and the earthquake destroys, I wonder what I want to create. A.Kuutio writes in Taide magazine 1/2023 “Does making art make sense?” The first answer he offers is “Art is the promise of a life with holistic elemental power, wholeness of life, and vitalistic emotional connection.”I study being in this time. I try to understand my need to do and at the same time question it. My work mixes materiality with the thoughts I process while working.The work has been on display at the Oulu Artists’ Association’s 60th anniversary exhibition at Art Centre Mältinranta in summer 2023. The work consists of 39 pieces of sheet fabric cut into incisions. Fragments hang from thin metal sticks.
InstallationOwn technique
Public work Oys2030, Oulu University Hospital.Serigraphy on canvas, coating, cutting. Size 850x450x140cm.
It was a pleasure to be able to create a sheet piece for the new hospital in Oulu. Bed sheets are strongly associated with hospital routines. When you go to, have to or are admitted to the hospital, you don’t have to worry about bringing your own sheets. There are beds pre-made lined up waiting. The same sheets circulate through the laundry from one user to another. They have agonized, rejoiced, mourned.The work is located in the Department of Paediatrics and Gynaecology. It rises above the café to a height of three floors. The essence of the work changes, depending on which floor you look at it.
Own technique
Turns installation at Gallery Mältinranta in Tampere. Serigraphy and painting on coated sheet fabric, incision.
Turns refer to the goal and goal. It refers to both a change in thoughts and a change in goals. Life is not straightforward. There may be a need to turn, change direction, make a turn. Sometimes the turns happens unintentionally. Turns include folds. Folds are revolutionary, borderline points. Folds and knees also refer to physical matter.The parts of the installation were completed in 2021-2023.
Installation
Three works, each with three old sheets, cut, pigment colours on canvas. Single size 175x85x50cm.
I study being in this time. Along with incisions, colours play the main role. They are the colors of the times, speaking of threat, hope, courage, trust, appreciation and gift. Color wheel thinking correlates with the surrounding reality. Colours are not download-free.In the main picture, works from dark to light: Sadness, Courage and Appreciation
Own technique
Installation; Recycled sheets, sewing, cutting, 500x500x500cm.
Sheets in which you have slept and stayed awake carry the past with you. The past can be a safety net that sustains. It can also be a pile of experiences that you want to collect and leave behind. What do we have if there is no more hope? How are you doing then?The parts of the installation were created in 2022-2023.On display at Kemi Art Museum in summer 2023.
Installation
2023
Coated sheets, cut, motorized metal hanging technology 350x150x150cm.
As part of the installation Hope at Kemi Art Museum in summer 2023.
Own technique
2022
Painting on coated sheet fabric. 350x700x350cm.
What do we carry with us? What do we see when we look at the same vision? What do we look at it through? It’s time before corona. It’s time before Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. It’s time before worry. It’s time before joy. It’s this moment. Humanity in relation to one’s own experiences and those of those who walk alongside. Humanity, relationships with other people, is part of my art making. That’s what I think about when painting and cutting fabric. Materially, my art work often starts with white sheet fabric. I work on it by serigraphy, painting, coating, cutting and sewing.I use these fabric elements to create spaces and spatial works. Lately, I have been working with large spatial works. The scale of childhood bed linen huts has grown in the same proportion as the author. Is art a documentation of existence or self-expression? For me, making art is spending time with my thoughts. I’m striving for something I want others to see. We look at the same vision, each from our own point of view.How far back can I remember? How far ahead do I imagine? Arches at Poriginal gallery in Pori 2022.
Installation