Wednesday, 10 December, 6–8 pm

Since film directors are able to practice architecture without the rules and regulations of gravity and daily life, film architecture becomes an architecture of meaning. – Helmut Weihsmann

Began in December 2013 during a Nordic & Baltic Collaboration Residency at HIAP, Scenography of Horror is a collaborative project by Patrik Aarnivaara and Maija Rudovska. Their first public presentation of the research consists of readings, images and video clips that reveal how architecture in horror films can stage fear, shock and deterrent. Their presentation will frame and narrate a story of a random collection of material which visualises the path of imaginative and intuitive as well as emotional thinking. In horror films we often locate corridors, tunnels, walls or doors. We never grasp the entire building, but are instead given various views, angles, sounds, lights, etc. These disparate places and views function as creators of emotional states; a sense of danger, repulsion of alienation is mediated to the audience through architecture.

The presentation will begin with an introduction of Aarnivaara and Rudovska’s ideas and then continues elaborating the various directions they found captivating during the research process. They will discuss themes such as spatial narration, screen space, haunted houses (the house as a creature and character), psychogeography and the emotional aspects in relation to space and architecture; the blurring between psychological and physical reality. Since the research is ongoing, the presentation will be open and flowing, without any particular conclusion or summary. Architect Helmi Kajaste and Curator Jenni Nurmenniemi (HIAP) will provide commentary.

The event will take place at Omenapuutalo (Apple tree house), Lapinlahdentie 1, a century-old wooden house by the Lapinlahti Hospital between Töölö and Ruoholahti by the sea. Omenapuutalo is easily accessed by foot, bike, bus, metro or tram (we suggest either taking the metro to Ruoholahti or tram #8 (stop: Marian Sairaala) and walking from there.

Snacks and drinks will be served.

Patrik Aarnivaara (SE) is interested in the interaction between the viewer and optical instruments, employing sculpture and photo-based works to explore the act of observation. He situates his sculptures in landscapes or gallery spaces. They are reminiscent of camera equipment that reflect, filter or mirror light and images of a place. Mounted on tripods, they are mobile and easily disassembled, like tools with interchangeable parts which can be used for various purposes: as projection surfaces or props for a photo session. The point of departure for his photo-based works is often architecture. Through walks and visits he explores how buildings can affect a viewer in motion and function as ocular tools.

Maija Rudovska (LV) is an independent curator, researcher and art historian. She has completed Curatorlab postgraduate studies at Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm and obtained an MA from the Art Academy of Latvia. Rudovska has curated such projects as Inside and Out (2012–13), kim? Contemporary Art Centre; Expired Monument: Story of a Culture Palace (2011, with Shirin Sabahi); Regard: Subversive Actions in Normative Space (2010), Moderna Museet; Hardijs Ledins (1955–2004) – Zeitgeist and the Atmosphere of a Place (2009), Riga Art Palace; among others. In both academic and curatorial work she is interested in post-Soviet issues, hybridity, periphery/locality, architecture and its systems, etc.