I see myself as a collector, searching for invisible, hidden or concealed spaces within abandoned objects. The analogue (envelope) collection displayed in the exhibition began when I discovered piles of old envelopes in a dumpster. They had been so badly soaked that the letters inside were no longer readable. As I examined the damaged letters, I realised I was more captivated by the patterned paper lining the insides of the envelopes—designed to prevent the contents from being seen—than by the letters themselves. I experienced the interior of the envelope as a hidden space, shielded from view.

I continued working with the envelopes. At first, I cut and composed collages from the papers and patterns, suggesting spatial formations. I then combined these collages with words, phrases and symbols. I believe that, in this way, the connection between image and word generates speech between two different origins. The works lead thoughts in new directions, creating a form of communication that brings about contradictions between verbal and visual information.

Ville Kumpulainen’s exhibition Home of Absences is woven with nested spaces and meanings that are revealed layer by layer. The exhibition is inspired by the ideas of French philosopher Georges Perec, particularly his reflections on spaces and their multiplicity of meanings—especially the spatial experience constructed through everyday life, memory, and perception. Kumpulainen’s works are built like stages, where unresolved matters are given a visual form. His practice addresses the structures of silence and distrust: the past radiates through as fragments within the images and in the layers constructed upon them.

Kumpulainen is interested in how images, materials, and objects create a dialogue between physical presence, spatial perception, and the past photograph. He collects and photographs different spaces from books, magazines, guides, and archives, as well as from his own surroundings. From these elements, he constructs collages in which forgotten visual realities and surprising juxtapositions are combined.

The collage-like structure of the works reveals internal landscapes, like floor plans of memory searching for a new route over the old. The artist feels that the recurring corners in the images act as shelters, referring to spatial withdrawal and the need for reconstruction. In Kumpulainen’s practice, layering appears as a means of moving forward: a new layer creates a space into which it is possible to step.

The body of work presented at Photographic Galllery Hippolyte combines collages, plaster reliefs, photograms, and found objects. In his works, Kumpulainen applies his own geometric rules and defies gravity by manipulating space and objects for the photograph. The closed two-dimensional space of the photograph allows for the construction of spatial realities of his own. It opens up different places for the gaze and the mind to sink into.

Ville Kumpulainen (b. 1988, Rovaniemi) is a visual artist based in Helsinki, who takes an experimental approach to spaces and objects through image-making. He explores visual realities through photographs, words, objects, and archival images. Kumpulainen graduated with a degree in Fine Arts from the Turku Arts Academy in 2016, and completed the Master’s programme in Photography at Aalto University in 2019. His book Out of Sight was published by the German publisher Hatje Cantz in 2017. Kumpulainen’s works have been shown in several solo and group exhibitions in Finland and abroad.

The artist’s work and exhibition have been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike).

Ville Kumpulainen
Home of Absences
10 May–1 June 2025
Photographic Gallery Hippolyte

image: Ville Kumpulainen, Olet tässä, 2025