REM (Rapid Eye Movement) is a phase of sleep during which the majority of dreaming occurs. During this period the brain regions involved in remembering and processing emotions are particularly active. In Toivo Heinimäki’s exhibition Rapid Eye Movement vol. III, the shapes, colours, and flashes in the photographs come together creating an ensemble that initially resembles everyday scenes and familiar situations. Upon closer look, however, the images do not form a coherent narrative. Heinimäki employs methods of documentary photography in his works, yet he does not present claims or conclusions – similar to REM dreams, logic makes way for emotionally charged subject matter.
The series of artworks on display at Hippolyte Korjaamo has been inspired by the artist’s experience of the cumbersome nature of human connection with other people and their surroundings. Life often feels more like struggling on the surface rather than a smoothly progressing narrative. Nevertheless – or perhaps precisely because of this – we would not get by without an emotional connection to others.
In addition to interpersonal relationships, the exhibition goes beyond human relationships to explore the relationship between person and place. Our perceptions of places are often not based directly on personal experiences of those places. Urbanist Paul Virilio called the term ‘tele presence’ (years before the Covid-19 pandemic) to describe the experience of places we become familiar with and form a connection to, for example, through films. The visual world of the exhibition constitutes a tele presence location where the milieus and characters from everyday and subconscious mix, but shake hands.
Rapid Eye Movement vol. III is a continuation of one magazine publication (Utu Press, 2021) and two exhibitions (Nykyaika, Tampere, 2022 & Fotocentrum Raseborg, Karjaa, 2023).
The exhibition will be accompanied by a magazine-style publication titled Kirkkenee asap, a catalogue-like combination of images from the exhibition with other photographs from the background and outskirts of Heinimäki’s work over the past few years. The edition of the magazine is limited to 50 copies, and it can be purchased at the exhibition opening and after that from Hippolyte’s Yrjönkatu book store.
Toivo Heinimäki (b. 1995, Helsinki) works widely in terms of photography and small publications. Heinimäki’s projects are often based on the confrontation of opposites through visual language – such as space vs. surface, noise vs. calmness or homely vs. foreign. Heinimäki graduated with a BA in photography from the Lahti Institute of Design in 2020.
Artists work is supported by the The Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike).
Toivo Heinimäki
Rapid Eye Movement vol. III
11 Aug – 8 October 2023
Hippolyte Korjaamo (Töölönkatu 51 A-B, 00250 Helsinki)
Open according to the opening hours of Korjaamo