Emma Sarpaniemi

Statement

In her practice, Emma Sarpaniemi investigates definitions of femininity through means of collaborative and performative self-portraits. She playfully dives into the relationship she has with the models she works with, to explore intimacy and companionship.

Dressing up, different movements, and unpredictably using daily life objects, the world Sarpaniemi creates both individually and in collaboration with her close friends is an outcome of a playful and tender depiction of womanhood.

GlogauAIR Project

Two Ways to Carry a Cauliflower (2021-) explores women’s self-portraiture by questioning the politics of looking at how women have been portrayed in history by male artists. To free the subject (and the gaze) from certain patriarchal ideals of femininity, I’m creating a playful and tender representation using myself as the character to behave, look and perform my own terms and rules.

During the residency period, I want to step out of the studio-like setting and move to a different kind of environment to create peculiar scenes. The character is placed in familiar environments, which brings the viewer closer to the subject’s world. The photographs are moments of intimacy and play between the character and the viewer.

As the subject often looks to the viewer, in the new photographs I want to investigate how the gaze and presence change when the subject is not looking into the camera. I’m intrigued by the absence and the presence of the camera and the subject. How do the body and self reorientate by the presence of the camera? How it leaves room for interpretation and how the gaze changes but also how the whole environment and setup changes. How does the camera become a character too.

I will take time to reflect on the material I’ve produced during the first month and research the philosophy of play in art and delve into the history of women’s self-portraiture even deeper.

CV Summary

Education

• 2016-2019 BA Photography, The Royal Academy of Art The Hague (KABK)

Solo exhibitions

• 2023 Two Ways to Carry a Cauliflower, Photographic Gallery Hippolyte, Helsinki, FI
• 2023 Two Ways to Carry a Cauliflower, Photographic Centre Peri, Turku, FI
• 2022 When the Sun goes down We see Lemons, Galleria Rajatila, Tampere, FI
• 2022 When the Sun goes down We see Lemons, Galleria Uusi Kipinä, Lahti, FI
• 2022 When the Sun goes down We see Lemons, Museum of Fine Arts, Nizhny Tagil, RU
• 2021 When the Sun goes down We see Lemons, Gallery of Modern Art Space Place, Nizhny Tagil, RU
• 2021 When the Sun goes down We see Lemons, Gallery Katariina, Helsinki, FI
• 2020 When the Sun goes down We see Lemons, Finlandsinstitutet, Stockholm, SE
• 2015 Taas se aika kuusta, OHO-gallery, Helsinki, FI

Group exhibitions

• 2021 Spektrum — Gender & Sexuality in Modern Art, Wäinö Aaltonen Museum, Turku, FI
• 2021 Comfort Revolution, The Design Museum, Helsinki, FI
• 2021 1 to 100, Streetgallery Mutteri, Helsinki, FI
• 2021 Atla on Paper, Dzidra, Copenhagen, DK
• 2021 Un(seen): In the Dazzle of Infrastructure, Galleria Aarni, Espoo, FI
• 2021 Spring Salon, Kosminen, Helsinki, FI
• 2020 Home alone #2, Kosminen, Helsinki, FI
• 2019 Ripples, Exhibition curated by Antonia Hamberg, Helsinki, FI
• 2019 Graduation festival, Royal Academy of Art The Hague, The Hague, NL
• 2019 Glass Cycle, Trixie Gallery, The Hague, NL
• 2019 PUSH IT TO THE LIMIT, Melkweg Expo, Amsterdam, NL
• 2018 fin.land, The Finnish Museum of Photography, Helsinki, FI
• 2018 Generation, Jyväskylä Art Museum, Jyväskylä, FI
• 2018 NOUN presents Good Work, The Grey Space in the Middle, The Hague, NL
• 2018 New Year New Me (24 hour marathon), WORM S/ash Gallery, Rotterdam, NL
• 2017 A Breath Of Fresh Air, Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, NL
• 2017 Generation 2017, Amos Anderson Art Museum, Helsinki, FI
• 2016 Home alone, Kosminen, Helsinki, FI
• 2016 Kakaduja ja Henkirikoksia, Galleria OYoy, Lahti, FI
• 2016 Qershi dhe Lavazh—Photographs from Albania, Jukka Male Museo, Helsinki, FI
• 2015 BLOOM, Lokal, Helsinki, FI

Grants & nominations

• 2022 The Next 100 Fashion Image Makers, Photo Vogue, Vogue Italia
• 2022 Arts Promotion Center Finland (Working grant)
• 2022 Arts Promotion Center Finland (Covid19 grant)

Gallery