Helsinki

Harriina Räinä: At the Oyster Bed

Harriina Räinä: At the Oyster Bed

Jan

06

Sat

12:00 – 17:00

1–3°C

light rain

At the Oyster Bed is Harriina Räinä’s exhibition, which uses shells of feral Pacific oysters as a starting point. The exhibition is part of a wider project called Volatile Shells, which examines the agency of oysters as well as the form and substance of their shells.

Oysters are a group of salt-water bivalves that stick to one location for their entire lives. When growing freely, they form reefs, which are rich ecosystems that prevent erosion, clean seawater and provide habitats for numerous other species. The English word oyster bed means a place at the bottom of the sea where oysters grow or are cultivated.

The exhibition at Oksasenkatu 11 consists of experimental photography-based printmaking, oyster shells, and large sheets of paper treated with oyster shell matter and sea salt. The shells of Pacific oysters, which have been used to make the artworks, were collected from the vicinity of oyster farms in Brittany, France, and along the western coast of Sweden, where the Pacific oyster thrives as an invasive species.

Harriina Räinä (b. 1989, in Kemi) is a visual artist, who works on Harakka Island in Helsinki. Räinä’s artistic interests lie in topics such as corporeality, the dynamics in the experience of observing, and the animal question, i.e., humans’ relationship with and attitudes towards other animals. She completed her Master’s in Fine Arts at the University of the Arts, Helsinki, in 2019. The Volatile Shells project has previously included a working period and an open studio event at the Cité des Arts residency in Paris, France, in 2022 and exhibitions at Titanik gallery in Turku and at Hippolyte Studio in Helsinki in 2023.

The artist’s work has been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Sat 06 Jan 2024 – 28 Jan 2024 12:00 – 17:00

1–3°C

light rain

Address:
Oksasenkatu 11,
Helsinki