Mikko Sinervo’s exhibition takes a look into outer space. Sinervo creates his own cosmic atlas, presenting spacial phenomena he finds interesting. Dwarf planets, Mars and dark matter are interpreted by the artist with different techniques, through both photography and installation.

Mikko Sinervo is interested in exploring the movement of time. Lens-based techniques together with photosensitive material have allowed him to record traces of light into pictorial form. Currently his work revolves around outer space and related phenomena. Its multiplicity and infinite possibilities have intrigued the artist for years and this new work is for most part based on scientific material he has collected over time.

With his exhibition Unfinished Map of Cosmos at Hippolyte, Mikko Sinervo continues to ponder the questions related to outer space. Where are the edges of dark matter? The works build an atlas of space where the artist interprets various cosmic phenomena he finds interesting.

Mikko Sinervo’s artistic work emphasises the working process while his studio acts as an artist’s observatory. The processual nature of his work is also present in the gallery space. Hippolyte Studio will host an installation made of a blacklight unit and paper doused with cyanotype chemicals (*). The paper continues to be exposed continuously without anyone ever seeing the outcome.

In addition to various photographic techniques the exhibition also entails plaster casts, oxidised copper plates and photographic prints processed with pigments. With different media Mikko Sinervo creates multifaceted pieces where the original idea finds its final form. They act as essential building blocks in the artist’s own, unfinished map of the cosmos.

Mikko Sinervo is a 35-year-old visual artist based in Helsinki. He graduated with a MA from the Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2010. His works have been seen in various group and solo exhibitions in both Finland an abroad.

* Cyanotype is an old but simple method of producing photographs. The photosensitive emulsion, born from a mixture of two ferric salts, can be developed with water. The result is typically a cyan-blue image, which can also be toned if desired. The technique was discovered in 1842 by the English astronomer and scientist Sir John Herschel.

The exhibition has been kindly supported by:
City of Helsinki Cultural Office, The Paulo Foundation, Finnish Art Society, Arts Promotion Centre Finland

31.3.–23.4.2017
MIKKO SINERVO
Unfinished Map of Cosmos

Photographic Gallery Hippolyte & Hippolyte Studio
Yrjönkatu 8–10 courtyard, 00120 Helsinki, +358 9 612 33 44, www.hippolyte.fi
Opening hours: Tue–Fri 12–5 pm, Sat–Sun 12–4 pm
Closed 14 April 2017

image: Mikko Sinervo, Tidal Locking (Europa), 2016