Sakari Kannosto: Children of the Flood, 2022

Sakari Kannosto: Children of the Flood, 2022

When working on the “Children of the Flood” exhibition, I wanted to combine parts of various myths: the sinking of ancient civilizations and the geneses of new ones. In my story, nature and man come together in a maritime setting. It’s kind of a reverse evolution, with a hope to find harmony in a new, difficult situation. The narrators in the exhibition are imaginative hybrids between humans and sea animals. They also act as messengers and intermediaries between different worlds.

At the moment, the declining faith in science has created a wave of fake news. Belief in rumors, predictions, and conspiracy theories surpasses proven facts. In the exhibition, oracles, seers, soothsayers, and clairvoyants appear, symbolizing the faith in fate, lottery, and omens on the edge of the inevitable. Who do we ask for advice when the worst has already happened and the new direction is unknown?

References to museums, artifacts, and collections of ancient cultures can also be seen in the exhibition. This body of work mainly consists of figures glazed in white and highlighted with platinum. Colorlessness clarifies the subject matter and creates space for imagination and the language of form.

My figurative works also criticize patriarchal assumptions and predictable gender roles—what a mermaid or a water creature should look like. Although there are descendants and parents, my works do not necessarily have traditional gender roles.

The faces of my figures often have a symbolic diving helmet, or their eyes are covered as if by glasses or mirroring surfaces. I use this to describe speed blindness and a narrow field of vision in a situation where humanity would need more clarity, equality, broad visions of the future, and self-reflection.

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