Undercurrent – more info

Pirjetta Brander: Undercurrent

Exhibition Undercurrent presents a retrospective selection of Pirjetta Brander’s works based on movement andline. Beside drawing the common elements in the works of the wide-ranging artist also include colourful parodyand laughter. The title of the exhibition refers to publicly known unpleasant or bad things which, however, rarely are uttered aloud. In searching for the truth, Brander fathoms the fields of everyday life, hierarchies,power and neglect. Artist Pirjetta Brander creates drawings, paintings, graphics, animations, installations as well as stone sculptures. In her works from 1996 to 2023, she explores the ways of being in the world.

The most recent work Void draws a geometrical spiral on the corridor wall. The shape is universally present in all structures of the universe. On the other hand, the numerous absurd details of Brander’s early drawingscarry the eye on the surface of the paper. The works like Rat King, invite to take a closer look. The works shed satirical light on the world and the prerequisites for a good life from different angles.

Lately, pandemic has paved way for more time-consuming methods. The series Teeming Void created usingthe traditional dry-needle technique depict the abundance of plants found along a forest path. The prints showthat, teeming with life, a surprising, toned and accurate picture of the world, plants and the structures of the undergrowth has been constructed on the blank plate, one point and one line at a time. In the animated drawing Garden. The Current Version of Paradise, the factory churns out stuff on a conveyor belt. Theindustrial reference suggests that the climate catastrophe is a logical consequence of human activity and the fact that people do not want to give up their high standard of living.

The rotating platforms also set the granite and marble sculptures in motion and bring out the original shape ofthe sculptures, which is important to Brander. Her sculptures are permanently on display in Sculpture Yard,which she founded in Mänttä in 2020.