THE STRUCTURES OF POWER

Miia Kallio and Otto Santala

Gallery Laterna Magica 10.10.-27.10.2018

The joint exhibition contains Miia Kallio’s ceramic sculptures and Otto Santala´s mixed media, photography and painting – art Works. We studied the theme of the exhibition -the dominion in society- during their joint working period in Budapest Valoság-residence January 2018. Budapest and modern Hungary offered interesting and aspiring soundboard on reflecting their theme the use of social power.

The exhibition portrays the structures of power by studying the architectural space and through the use of urban space. Themes in their art work is for example the simple, hierarchical power of military power. The news are telling all the more of the power of the military of various countries and their ability to use it. How the structures of democracy can be protected with soldiers? Aren´t we merely protecting the rulers, banks and global enterprise rather than the freedom of the individual and the freedom of the speech, the basic principles of western democracy?

The freedom of movement and the ways of controlling it are interwoven to the whole concept of their work. Thoughts and ideas are moving along with people from the place or the situation to another, thus making the progress of the civil society possible. Totalitarian systems have always diminished people’s equal right of move. In modern Europe the freedom of movement concerns all the smaller group of people.

The other forms of using power handled in their art works are religious dominion, the power of money and the invisible use of power by different kind of networks.