5.9-28.9.2025

Opening: 4.9, 18-20:00

Kristina Sedlerova Villanen and Sofia Okkonen’s duo exhibition Present.Present descends into the semi-basement space of a former store, to an emotionally charged inner landscape. Present.Present picks up where the Sugartrap exhibition exploring the theme of romantic love at the Sinne gallery in 2023, left off— with the stumbling blocks colored by mutual dependence, desire, and deprivation. Rooms “1” and “2” function like two sides of the same coin, shaped by distinct materials, aesthetic strategies and gestures that reflect and respond to one another.

In her installation located in room “1”, Kristina examines the ways of communication, consumption, and the essence of interdependency. She tunes a state of expectation with elements referring to DIY antennas, a canteen, and children’s play. The delicacy is filled with stones, the meticulously placed structures are hissing through the scratches and holes on their surfaces. Kristina leaves the situation, constructed primarily from recycled and found materials, as a suggestive series of stationary objects that are ready to continue their journey any moment soon.

(They play golf while souls are being traded.)
(Perhaps it is possible to choose differently, to be present and see through the walls.)

In room “2”, Sofia has poured a great deal of time and her energies into pampering her opening guests with a generous amount of cake. Sofia would like to thank all the wonderful guests in advance, and of course many times afterwards and would be truly disheartened if anyone chose to pass on a slice” Sofia’s work is shaped by an interest in the manifestations of narcissistic libido. Self-directed energy feels like a strange fever – one that never quite breaks. The work on display reflects on the delirious oscillation between a superficial self-importance and self-loathing vulnerability. This ongoing tension between opposites seems to have become a way of being – a physical state, a sensation: the lovelessness felt by those who deeply long for love.

Our artistic work on this exhibition is supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland and Kone Foundation.
Sofia Okkonen (b. 1987) is a Helsinki-based visual artist working primarily with staged photography. She holds an MA from Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Department of Photography (2017). In addition to her artistic work, she engages in a range of creative commissions, including fashion photography and directing.

In recent years, Okkonen’s artistic work has been inspired by reflections and experiments related to the materiality of images, installation, and the appropriation of physical space. Her photographs have been presented e.g. in the form of large-scale wallpaper works and digitally printed canvases. Sofia’s works have been exhibited at, among other places, the Sinne Gallery in Helsinki, the Turku Art Hall, the Espoo Cultural Center, the Finnish Museum of Photography in Helsinki, the Northern Photography Center in Oulu, the Design Museum in Helsinki, Foto Tallinn, the Finnish Institute in Stockholm Gallery in Stockholm, Vienna Design Weeks in Vienna, Organ vida Festival in Zagreb, Quad Gallery in Derby, Hyeres Festival vol.32 at Villa Noailles in Hyeres, and Nuoret 2015 exhibition at Kunsthalle Helsinki.

Kristina Sedlerova Villanen (b. 1987) is interested in the inconsistent nature of humanity, its tendency to create structures that cause inequality and cling to them. Kristina holds master’s degrees in stage design from Aalto University and sculpture from the University of the Arts Helsinki. Her work has been exhibited at Krupa Art Foundation Wroclaw, PalProject Paris, Atelier Calder Saché, Sculptor Galleria Helsinki, SINNE Galleria Helsinki, P////AKT Amsterdam, Extra City Kunsthal Antwerp, Oksasenkatu 11 Helsinki, Porin Biennale Helsinki, Park Tilburg Tilburg, Outo Olo Helsinki, Haukilahden vesitorni Espoo, Art au Centre Liège #3, Taidehalli Helsinki, Van Eyck Open Studios Maastricht, Titanik Galleria Turku, MUU Kaapeli Galleria Helsinki, Taidemuseo Eemil Lapinlahti, Colombo Art Biennale, FISAD 2015 Torino, Exhibition Laboratory Helsinki, Taiga-Space St. Petersburg, and Sorbus Galleria Helsinki. In 2024, Kristina published her first artist book, “THE VALUE OF THINGS WILL INEVITABLY CHANGE.”