Juha Rouhekoski, the artistic director of Lux Helsinki, hopes that there will be no similar uproar in the future for the works of the event.
There is no going back. Artist Katariina Sourin55, a stunning painting depicting a Sámi woman and a reindeer decorates Senate Square during the Lux Helsinki light art event.
Souri himself did not participate Bottom contact – for the announcement of his collection of works. According to information obtained by Iltalehti, he did not want to give interviews to the press. Artistic director of Lux Helsinki Juha Rouhekoski can’t say why Souri came to such a solution.
– He has said that he will come to see the work. Anyway, we don’t have nearly all the artists here today, so I don’t think it’s very special, he says to Iltalehte.
The artistic director of Lux Helsinki, Juha Rouhekoski, does not consider Katariina Souri’s absence to be anything special. Antti Nikkanen
Souri’s painting depicting a Sámi woman caused a great stir even before its publication. The work has been called, among other things, an old-fashioned and stereotypical description of the Sámi.
Despite the uproar, Lux Helsinki decided to present the work, but with attention to content. Rouhekoski now explains why Lux Helsinki reached that decision in the negotiations.
– That whole is much more than one painting. It is also good to remember that we are not going to hang the oil painting anywhere, but to form a light painting from it, which is a large whole, the artistic director reminds.
– It started to feel like if we did pre-censorship and removed the photo that caused a stir, people wouldn’t know what they were fussing about. No one would have ever seen the work that was designed for this festival, he adds.
Katariina Souri’s raised painting features a Sámi woman whose face is half covered by a window. Antti Nikkanen
According to Rouhekoski, there has never been such an uproar in the history of Lux Helsinki. He sees both good and bad sides in the commotion.
– Of course, it was really unfortunate that the piece caused a bad feeling. Of course you don’t want that. Regarding cultural ownership and the related discussion, I feel that the discussion has been useful. Clearly, those boundaries have been unclear, which is cultural appropriation and which is inspiration from another culture, Rouhekoski analysed.
– I can see that this has been a sad thing, but clearly the topic itself is simmering under the surface – and it’s good to discuss it, he states.
However, Rouhekoski does not hope that the same kind of buzz will come from Lux Helsinki works.
– I have promised our team that the 2025 Lux would be awesome, he says.
Katariina Souri did not arrive at the presentation of her work. JENNI GUEST