Galerie Forsblom May 5 – May 28, 2017
Opening with the artist in attendance, May 4, 2017 at 5.00 pm – 7.00 pm
Ines Sederholm (b. 1991) is a street artist whose latest exhibition is a colorful, bold-lined total work of art that fills the gallery space from floor to ceiling. The show was inspired by the artist’s recent visit to Samoa, where she sketched and studied Samoan tattoo culture, and even attended a ceremony in which a young Samoan woman was tattooed according to local tradition. Her experiences, notes and sketches of Samoan tattoo culture are now translated into the form of a monumental work of art in Galerie Forsblom’s Studio space. A mural by Sederholm will also be on display in the gallery’s Lönnrot Street lobby for the duration of the show.
Filling the entire Studio, the exhibition consists of three thematic parts, each taking a different perspective on Samoan tattoo culture. The first is based on sketches done by Sederholm while she witnessed the young woman’s tattooing process. The second looks at the plants and animals that typically inspire Samoan tattoos. Certain motifs are passed down from generation to generation by members of the same family, as Samoans traditionally see themselves as recording their family history on their skin. The third part looks at the origins of Samoan tattoo culture and the belief that the tradition originated when two maidens swam to Samoa across the open sea bringing a tattooing kit with them. The artist’s paintings are intended to be a tribute to Samoan visual culture. Although the motifs are inspired by tattoos, they are not direct copies of any particular tattoo.
Sederholm’s exhibition revisits the origins of Samoan tattoos, yet it also comments of the evolution of urban art: in the western world, street art and tattoos have rapidly become established as part of the accepted public mainstream. Street art is no longer only relegated to the underground, but is also an easily relatable vehicle of commentary on issues related to culture and the community. Sederholm represents the rising generation of young Finnish street artists who embrace a community-oriented style of working. The artist is inspired by bright colors, and her paintings are rich in detailed ornamentation. Sederholm is a self-taught artist and is the co-founder of the Sähinä Culture Center.