Common grounds – Moving scape, mutated land | Curated by Clément Beraud

Common grounds is an exhibition that invites artists to focus on East Helsinki, experiencing its stories, voices, and landscapes through a variety of lenses. Inspired by the Situationist movement, Common grounds mirrors its commitment to derailing established norms and uncovering hidden narratives. It seeks to disrupt the dominant consciousness surrounding urban perception and prompts audiences to engage with their everyday neighbourhoods in fresh and reflective ways. Through the inclusion of multiple practices, the exhibition intends to unravel multiple gazes upon our everyday landscape and our representation of space and place. Together, the different perspectives produce a unique exhibition that captures variations of landscape within east Helsinki as common ground. Artists: Transitory writing featuring Dua Abbas Rizvi, Shaghayegh Ansari & Lena Séraphin Transitory writing dives into the practice of writing as a means of exploring and representing a chosen space. Their experimental approach to language emphasizes collective, situated, embodied, performative, and multilingual methodologies. Through their works, they gather diverse perspectives and reflections on East Helsinki, weaving a collaborative narrative that resonates with the community's voice and experience. Johannes Romppanen's poignant portraits capture the essence of beings residing in East Helsinki. By engaging intimately with his subjects, he unveils their stories, shedding light on diverse experiences. His photographs invite viewers to rethink their perceptions, moving beyond stereotypes to embrace the rich tapestry of human connection. In a captivating interplay of sound and visual art, Francesca Bogani Amadori and Henry Lämsä create an immersive experience that invites viewers to reconsider their relationship with East Helsinki as a place. The soundscapes and video works reinterpret the ways we view landscapes, revealing how bodies interact with specific locations and contribute to a sense of identity. By examining notions of place and (non)place, they challenge conventional understandings of space and encourage deeper engagement with the environment. Clément Beraud exhibits several photographs of the East Helsinki landscape. Taken in analogue format, the images depict the fast-growing pace of different areas of east Helsinki carrying the dichotomy between urban and nature. A constant search for common ground, capturing our territory and our space of living, brings an aesthetical perspective that one doesn't necessarily think about. To cultivate discussion, the space will have a participatory area where visitors can let out their impressions and sense of belonging to their homes and their identities. Common grounds is part of an artistic research project named Moving scape, mutated land. The project interrogates the hegemonic perceptions of landscape narratives in Finland, questioning the fluidity and representation of our territories. By aiming to display other stories and identities, it aspires to foster dialogue around the complexities of place and identity, enriching the cultural tapestry of our society. My research on landscape narrative urges participants to reclaim their connection to the city, transforming the mundane into the extraordinary by recontextualizing their interaction with environment, memory, and identity. Curational rationale by Clément Beraud