Markus Jäntti, Oscar Veyrunes / Automatic
01.02. - 31.03.2024
Pajagalleria
Vanha Talvitie 9, Helsinki
Automatic
Automatic
You're automatic and your heart's like an engine
I die with every beat
You're automatic and your voice is electric
Why do I still believe?
It's automatic, every word in your letter
A lie that makes me bleed
It's automatic when you say things get better
But they never
Ther's no real love in you
Ther's no real love in you
Ther's no real love in you
Why do I keep lovin' you ?
Feels automatic countin' cars on a crossroad
They come and go like you
Feels automatic watchin' faces I don't know
Erase the face of you
It's automatic, systematic, so traumatic
You're automatic
TH
Markus Jäntti and Oscar Veyrunes deal with themes of urban repetition in their works. They
depict outsiderness, the generic nature of endless visual stimuli and the general difficulty of
perceiving entireties. The exhibition includes a large-scale painting by Jäntti as well as prints and smallglass sculptures. Veyrunes contributes with sculptures connected by a wire mesh. Each piece is a form wrapped in a net. The nets are made up of interconnected pieces of varying size and shape. The essential element is the surface created by the repetition of the mesh, which gives the works a rhythmic, suitably varied aesthetic form.
In Jäntti’s paintings and prints, the composition is loose and the subjects are composed of fragments. They move smoothly between pop art, naivism and contemporary expressionism, building interesting visual bridges. Repetition can be found both within and between works. The coloured glass sculptures in the Cheval Liberté series borrow their form from the horses of high end fashion brands' logos. Status symbols of history have become symbols of consumption.
The exhibition is called Automatic. It is strongly critical of consumption, but its content and
conceptual aspect is balanced with its form. The works have an insightful use of materials, they are carefully scaled and their dialogue works well in an intimate space. The intimacy of the space builds an interesting paradox in relation to the industrial milieu and the landscape offered by the windows, revealing the transformation of a former wasteland in a state of transition into a commercial urban space.
Veyrunes' sculptures include a keyboard and a cushion wrapped in a net. The ready-made
elements prompt us to think about the global problems of the electronics and textile industries. Yet the works rely heavily on their aesthetic sensibility as well as their palpable fragility. Some of Jäntti's glass horses are headless, others whole. Equally, they are something other than the silk scarf adorning the shoulders of the upper classes in their sensitivity. Topicality is ultimately
timeless; the message of critical discourse is more effective when dressed in a subtle visual
costume.
Veikko Halmetoja