Mary Song. Distance Making & Reducing, 2011

This spring Korean curator Mary Hyunhee Song worked at the residence for 3,5 months. Raumars presented her exhibition Distance Making & Reducing by 7 multinational artists at Gallery 3H+K in Pori. This exhibition was proposed by Song when she applied for her curator residency. Since then, she developed her theme through her research on different culture, different material, different ideologies, as well as physical distance human being creates. While she stayed in Finland, she also contacted with local artists who were participating in the exhibition as well under the theme of Distance Making & Reducing.

The following artists participated the exhibition: Marianne Csaky (Hungary), Roxana Manouchehri (Iran/Ireland), Aurinna Marstio (Finland), Gigi Scaria (India), Kiwoun Shin (Korea/UK), Heikki Takala (Finland) and Tiina Vehkaperä (Finland).

In the exhibition, there were several video works by Csaky, Scaria, and Shin, those who went through National Studios of Changdong in Korea as well as Manouchehri who focuses on the gap between Persian tradition and modern life we live in. Csaky’s video Delete showed the way of deleting memories, and Shin’s series of grinding showed the process of this deleting or disappearing. Shin also participated Design Museum’s exhibition Korean design in Helsinki.

Many of Scaria’s videos also show the contrast, especially social and architectural structures. Vehkaperä’s installation physically proved this contrast between two different distances when you try to look at yourself through her work. Takala’s sound project took different distances into more meditative and surreal level of ordinary life. Marstio's dress pattern paper work showed the different aesthetics of using the same material in a sculptural way. A lot of her works are also related to nostalgia, which is a huge distance about our time, the past, when we have lived already.

The distance human being makes is amazing. Not just about physical distance, but mental distance as well as emotional distance. This distance sometimes creates such a huge misunderstanding of what the other side is or has. In many cases, artists are trying to reduce this distance through their artwork. However, you sometimes have to create your own distance to look at things better especially for a proper perspective towards a certain thing.

Associated with the exhibition, STX Finland Oy Rauma shipyard, presented at their canteen, Kiwoun Shin’s video Reality Test from 5^th to 29^th April. Residence artists had public lectures on 6^th, 13^th and 20^th April at the Rauma library: Marianne Csaky Recent works and public project, Roxana Manouchehri When you travel with your art and Mary Song Why do people care about art.

Csaky and Shin worked in Rauma for two weeks. During her three week period painter Roxana Manouchehri also had a workshop at Rauma Training School with 3th grade pupils. The workshop was based on an Iranian folk tale, that Manouchehri told to the students, who made finger puppets from one of the tale’s characters.

The exhibition was supported by Arts Council Korea and STX Finland Oy, Rauma shipyard. Thanks to Tekniset Mäntynen and Pori Art Museum.