Cia Karlsson's exhibition in the Tile Gallery and on the Small Stage opens on Tuesday evening, Jan 27th, 5-7 p.m. Warm Welcome!

My subjects are stuffed animals found in flea market stalls. These important substitutes for parents, loved and even manhandled by children, or in psychologists' language, transitional objects, had already fulfilled their function and become unnecessary.

Although my models are inanimate objects, many adults also find that their plastic eyes convey a gaze that appeals and arouses emotions, including thoughts about the fates of other animals and people.

I have hung the portraits in old frames to emphasize the special status and dignity of the subjects and to strengthen the experience of the encounter between the viewer and the model. The aim of the works is for the viewer to understand their tendency to humanize what they see – and then in other situations as well.

The exhibition features the photographer's work diary and the experiences of adults and children about their relationships with stuffed animals. In connection with the exhibition, guests can share stories about their own mascots and sleep toys either by writing about them in the guestbook or on the website ciakarlsson.fi/pehmot. The texts will only be used anonymously and in exhibitions and publications related to the topic.

Cia Karlsson

pehmopotrettien kuvaaja

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