Old Granary, Fiskars
9.5.-26.9.2010
Secrets and mysteries have fascinated mankind for thousands of years. They have been a source of inspiration for artists and scholars, who have also helped to create them. Creative people are often curious by nature and interested in all things unknown. Throughout history, artists and artisans have embedded hidden meanings and secrets in their works.
A secret can be knowledge, a skill, method or a formula; or even a coded language known only to the initiated. It can be something so strange that it reminds beyond human comprehension and consciousness, or something deliberately kept out of view. The word is also associated with things that are explicitly subdued or withdrawn; personal or not brought into the open.
Representing over 20 different disciplines, the members of the Arts and Crafts Cooperative of Fiskars, and their specially invited guests, interpret the theme of SECRET through their individual expressive works. Many of the works play with the idea of a message, or code. The message may be hidden in the symbolic language of colors or materials; the code may require a specialist knowledge, or skill, to decipher it. The architecture, and mysterious atmosphere, of the beautiful Grain Store building has inspired many of exhibitors to create pieces predicated on dialogue between the artwork and the very space itself. Other artists have related the theme to religious subjects, or pondered the mystery of life itself. Their art speaks to, and works upon, the public on many levels, inviting a multiplicity of views and explanations.
We are honored to present an intriguing sample of works by artists invited to participate in the SECRET exhibition: artist Outi Heiskanen with her collaboraters Janne Laine and Markus Jäntti, artist director Marita Liulia, and jewelry artist Sari Liimatta
