Mikko Rikala | So Little Changed, So Little Remained | Persons Projects | 10.09.-02.11.2024

Throughout his career, Rikala has focused on different conceptual ways of visualizing the passage of time. In Rikala’s Lethe / Mnemosyne series, he utilizes collected objects both natural and man-made from his childhood that carry a memory for him. The photographs depicting his hands touching this assortment of objects is symbolic for the act of releasing the memories embedded in their history. They all play a part in Rikala’s relationship with his approach to humanity and the natural order within the world we coexist with. “I have been collecting small items from both the natural and man-made worlds since I was a child. Each of these objects has a story behind them. By touching and looking at these objects, I am activating my memory. Similar to how seashells and coins are part of a greater natural system, my memories are intertwined with a collective memory that shapes and sustains our humanity,” explains the artist. His process involves analog photography, and various darkroom techniques, including overdevelopment, solarization, and superimposition of multiple images, alongside with digital technology. Rikala prints images and rephotographs with black and white film. This process is often repeated several times to achieve the desired tones. The films are developed with a developer that is too warm, which results in errors and usually leaves the negative very thin with tones. Afterward, the artist prints the negative in a darkroom and employs various techniques to further manipulate the image. Once the work is deemed ready, the artist rephotographs the image, scans it, and produces an inkjet print. Part of this project was recently shown at the Prix Photoforum exhibition at Kunsthaus Pasquart, Biel in Switzerland.

In the second part of the exhibition, Rikala explores and utilizes his Nordic sensibility to get to the heart of what German Romanticism was inspired by, his use of minimal aesthetics with his approach to conceptual thinking. They are conceived as a means to trigger our imagination by bridging the image to the non-visible experience. His contextual approach reintroduces his interpretation of the German lost tradition of letting nature surround the individual as he or she absorbs the moment within it. By recording his own presence in his garden while listening to the wind, rain, water, and silence, Rikala creates his own sense of visual consciousness through his photographic compositions. In these multisensory works, the artist recalls specific events through objects he touches. He invites viewers to delve into the intimate realm of memory and their own personal histories. The tactile nature of the artworks connects the gap between the past and present. This enables Rikala’s hands to delicately interact with the collected objects, each imbued with its own narrative. By incorporating elements from nature and human creation, Rikala prompts contemplation on interconnectedness and the complexities of our existence within the natural world. By presenting his own collected objects of meaning through the lens of his touch, Rikala prompts us to reconsider the significance of the everyday and the profound meanings embedded within our material surroundings. He invites viewers to delve into the intimate realm of memory and their own personal journey of self-discovery and reflection, where the boundaries between past and present, self and surroundings, blur to reveal the intricate tapestry of human experience.