01.02.2023 – 07.05.2023

Pilvi Takala’s new piece Close Watch, which premiered at the 59th Venice Biennale in spring 2022, will follow by an exhibition at EMMA early in 2023 as part of InCollection a series of collaborative exhibitions co-produced by EMMA and the Saastamoinen Foundation. Takala is the fifth artist to be featured in this invitational series, in which a new piece is commissioned annually from a visionary contemporary artist.

Through her art Takala examines various communities, work cultures and the implicit rules they conform to. Close Watch takes a critical look at how power is wielded in public spaces through the private security industry. The multi-channel video installation is based on Takala’s experiences during her six-month employment and research while working covertly for Securitas as a fully qualified security guard in one of Finland’s largest shopping malls.

The videos were filmed at a three-day workshop organized by Takala in which she and her ex-colleagues address issues of racism, violence and toxic behaviour that she has encountered in the workplace. Close Watch opens up a space for reflection to explore alternative tactics as the guards, and by extension ourselves, can consider one’s roles, ethics, and power when exerting authority in their field, and society.

Based in Berlin and Helsinki, Takala is an award-winning artist acclaimed for her observant videos carefully investigating the unwritten social rules that govern our daily behaviour.

The work for the 2023 exhibition is commissioned by Frame Contemporary Art Finland and co-produced by Saastamoinen Foundation and Frame for the 59th Venice Biennale. The installation will be on display at the Biennale from April to November 2022. The exhibition curator is Christina Li.