Gallery Hippolyte
Videoinstallation 2016
Duration 3:26min
Music: Rasmus Hedlund
Spherical backprojection on acrylic dome, diameter 80cm. The method of creating the spherical animation was same as in creating rendered virtual reality environments, and it combined animated effects with filmed video footage from Helsinki.
Press release: The video installation shows scenes that resemble a disaster movie taking place in Helsinki. Having lived in Helsinki since 2009, Lehtonen is fond of local scenery: “Although I hope that the views won’t change, I dream of a disaster that would spell an end to all laws and force survivors to start all over again. If only something really big would happen that would truly make a difference!”
In a city that has so far escaped natural disaster, inside the walls of an art gallery it feels safe to watch staged scenes of horror, although the real disaster may in fact be creeping in instead of crashing over our heads. In her installation consisting of video footage, sound and a acrylic projection dome coming through a wall, Lehtonen uses the power of image to shape reality and technology to simulate nature. Even when we understand their illusory power, images can induce the same sense of helplessness in us as forces of nature. The effect of moving images is particularly strong.