Exhibition review | The community exhibition corrects the historiography of the films, which was perceived as oppressive

Culture|Exhibition review

Karina Griffith, Giovanna Esposito Yussif and Jaana Kokko: Coming to terms 2.10. until the gallery in Sinne (Iso Roobertinkatu 16). Tue–Sun 11–17.

by Karina Griffith, Giovanna Esposito Yussif and Jaana Kokon show Coming to terms combines theory with a relaxed stay. Gallery There, an orange hammock is hung in front of the large windows, where black feminism and film theory are offered for reading to the wanderer bell hooks, Audre Lorde and By Tina M. Camptin as essays.

The works of the exhibition approach the film in different ways. In the showcase table in the center of the gallery, there are “pocket movies” made by Griffiths of the Ghanaian King Ampawn from the movie They Call it Love (1972). Hanging from the ceiling is Jaana Koko’s tapestry sewn into the shape Script for Strawberry Place (2022).

Ingmar Bergman the tapestry that borrowed its name from the film seems to convey a generational story, which instead of emotional emptiness and betrayal tells about rootedness in the home region and intergenerational affection.

Coming to terms resembles in spirit the international winds of contemporary art. Instead of visual dazzle, the exhibition aims for community, sharing and documenting the processes behind the works.

There is a similar undertone in Documenta 15, which is currently on display in Kassel, Germany, for example.

One of the largest contemporary art events in the world, there are collectives that deal with the experiences of sharing and community in the exhibition.

Collectives have produced a surprisingly coherent set of exhibitions at Documenta, which creates the impression of a strong role of the curatorial group Ruangrupa from Jakarta in the artistic process.

Also Coming to terms -exhibition curator Giovanna Esposito Yussif has become a member of the artistic working group to such an extent that she has been raised alongside the artists as one of the authors.

Coming to terms -the red thread of the exhibition, the correction of cinematic historiography perceived as oppressive, is concretized in a pair of works by Karina Griffith Proposal #1: Intrude (2022) and Proposal #2: Obtrude (2022). The works deal with the 1993 Oberhausen Film Festival series, which showcased European black cinema but did not include a single work by a black German director.

In Griffith’s practice, the film series represents the writing of history, which one can try to influence.

Griffith proposes to Oberhausen an updated version of the series, which also includes black German directors.

Read more: These exhibitions are worth visiting now: Recommended for the weekend include Kant from the Academy of Fine Arts and Robert Kennedy’s last trip