07.12. – 22.12.2024
Opening/Avajaiset 5th of December 18.00 – 20.00

“We need the tonic of wildness… At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.”
― Henry David Thoreau, “Walden: Or, Life in the Woods”

Myymälä2 is pleased to present  “Meandering, Drifting and Wandering ” by the artist Walter Götsch. In this exhibition, Götsch — who embodies a true nomad rural roamer— uses strategies derived from Situationism, exploration (dérive) and reversal (détournement), and his exceptional skills of psychogeography to explore natural areas in countries like Finland, Georgia and Greece. His endless wandering curiosity has awarded him the possibility to find places where the grip of global settlement loosens—rural areas, islands, mountains, and places where nature reigns supreme.  He has been able to explore and live in the wilderness noman’s lands outside the gridlines and societal order, governed instead by natural rhythms, within environments that challenge traditional notions of space and perception.

Göstch unconventional installations and ephemeral sculptures are built from discarded relics, leftover vestiges and industrial detritus of past and present history. Somehow they reflect this anarchism—a rejection of conventional notions of value and permanence.  At the same time, his creations highlight the intense tension between human presence and nature’s overwhelming force. 

The images presented are part of that ongoing exploration, a meditation on the delicate balance between human history and the untamable wild.  This process is formalized in the creation of the M.A.R.P.S. (Mobile Art and Research Production System). Each sculpture is made in situ and is recorded only through documentation. They are traceable using GPS coordinates and orientating techniques of Neogeography.   

In addition to the visual works, the exhibition space includes some of the essential equipment for survival during the artist’s journeys: a sleeping bag, poncho, cooking equipment, camping gadgetry and other tools. These objects represent the practicality of living in the wild, but they also hold traces of the environments he has travelled through.

At varying degrees, the exhibition touches on fundamental issues related to raising awareness about the underlying issues of human relations with nature and ecology.  Gotsch emphasises the emotional and psychological impact of geography on human behaviour. Consequently, the show might be seen as an outstanding exercise and commitment to cartographing the unseen as a way to rethink a more sustainable, harmonious and healing relationship with the natural world.

Walter Götsch, is a Finnish multidisciplinary visual artist . He gained a Bachelor of Fashion, Aalto University (2016) and Master of Arts and Design, Sandberg Instituut (2019). he’s  a member of Muu ry, Kiila ry, the Dirty Art Foundation, and the Walking Artists Network.  Götsch’s work is about learning from the past, preparing for the future, and fostering curiosity about the present. I seek ways to connect with the environment and history, thereby creating approaches for thinking about the future. He works primarily in nature, constructing concepts in the studio and engaging with usability, field research, and symbolism. Recent exhibitions include: “The Open Art Platform (OAP)” at Tekniikan Museo, Helsinki (2024); “Drinking from the Fire Hose”, Myymälä2, Helsinki (2023); “ORGANIC” at Galleria Longa, Helsinki, (2023);  “Pillars of Autumn: RETREAT. Raum Vollreinigung Gallery, Berlin. (2022) and  “Some functions seem unfamiliar” Asbestos Gallery, Helsinki (2022) 

Exhibition curated by Ramiro Camelo 

Exhibition funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation