Jukka Tilus’ exhibition at Hippolyte Studio consists of images that have grown into an ever-evolving archive. Photos taken of everyday situations are material that Tilus accumulates in his daily life by taking a photograph whenever he encounters something interesting. In recent years, this way of recording events has become part of his practice. The work acts as a counterbalance to more thought-intensive artistic work, especially in its verbalisation. Alongside more meticulous, language-based work, there has been a need to find unconstrained and spontaneous ways to react to the environment and its situations.
The recording of one’s immediate surroundings and the depiction of random encounters or situations has, of course, long been an intrinsic part of photography as a medium, and such traditions are also present in Tilus’ work. His expression bears traces of both the legacy of street photography and the style of documentary photographers from the late 20th century. The exhibition’s title speaks of elementary particles, called neutrinos, which sweep through our bodies—for Tilus, this reflects the contingent flow of chance and ephemerality of moments. Those invisible, small particles also always tether us to the past—reinforcing that changes always move from something to create the present moment.
The employment of display techniques in Tilus’ exhibition also responds to the growing mass of images that serve as its source. The images are formed into constellations in the studio space, and individual parts will be altered by the artist during the exhibiton’s duration. Thus, the exhibition does not have a final, finished state, not unlike the process of producing its material. Instead, improvisation and experimentation guide Tilus’ photography, the construction of the exhibition, and hopefully also the visitors’ encounter. Viewers can experience Tilus’ newest combinations of the works in the exhibition space and online.
Jukka Tilus is a visual artist and photographer living in Vantaa. Tilus graduated from the Lahti Institute of Design (now LAB University of Applied Sciences) after first studying visual arts at Liminka School of Art. His pictures were last shown in Helsinki in the spring of 2020 in the exhibition space of Kalasataman Vapaakaupunki. In recent years, Tilus has also had solo exhibitions at the Ostrobothnian Photography Center in Lapua (2019) and Galleria Uusi Kipinä in Lahti (2019).
image: Jukka Tilus, 2019
Jukka Tilus
Billions of Neutrinos Pass Through Us Every Second Like We Are Nothing
3–26 September 2021
Hippolyte Studio