VIDEO
Distribution:
Gun Holmström
AV-arkki (Finland) www.av-arkki.fi
GIV (Canada) www.givideo.org
"Gunzi Holmström is known for her warm and intimate video portraits of people living on the edge of society. Her videos and other art works has received international attention and been screened in various film festivals, art museums and galleries in Europe, USA and Asia. Her theme is the mystical inner experience of the spiritual reality."
The Silence of Sini
HD video, multi channel installation, 2022, duration 16 min
"The Silence of Sini" is a multi channel video installation, and a portrait of a woman living in Lapland in Finland. She is talking about her spiritual journey. The parts of the installation consists of an interview, burning the grass on the field in the spring, and an animation of icons that Sini has painted in the shape of two eyes.
"I love listening to her. She's so at peace with herself. And I love those moments when she's quiet. She's like a mountain with her big hair and her serenity. She's like an icon in the video herself, or an oracle. There is so much nice in the simple and quiet. And when she's silent, I'm already thinking about what she's going to speak about next ... and then she starts to talk about how we humans constantly think and think, and I'm stuck again ... At the same time, she's funny too - for example, when she talks about how unnecessary it is to wash ourselves all the time. She is like the opposite of all the misery and stress and hustle and bustle that exists. She talks so beautifully about the soul that has come here to learn. Which does not think. Which is just love. Sini is as much of a guru as any other guru in the world. " Media artist Nina Lassila
Aura Kanerva Merivuokko
AURA KANERVA MERIVUOKKO, HD video, 2020, dur. 15.07 min
The work is funded by AVEK, Stina Krooks stiftelse and Svenska litteratursällskapet
The video is a portrait of Aura, a blind transperson who has found a way to express her spirituality among other things through sexuality. From an early age she longed for experiencing true love and this led to very difficult encounters and complicated relationships. The fact that she experiences herself as ”a girl in a man’s body” hasn't made it easier. However, she found a solution. Now she works as a sexual healer because she wants to teach other people to love themselves. The video states that sometimes it's through what appears to be odd that you can experience a truth that applies to most.
Videomuotokuva kertoo sokeasta Aurasta, joka on löytänyt tavan ilmaista henkisyyttään muun muassa seksuaalisuuden kautta. Varhaisesta iästä lähtien hän on halunnut kokea todellista rakkautta ja tämä on johtanut vaikeisiin kohtaamisiin ja monimutkaisiin suhteisiin. Se seikka että hän kokee itsensä tytöksi miehen kehossa ei ole tehnyt hänen elämästään yksinkertaista. Mutta Aura on löytänyt oman ratkaisunsa. Nyt hän on kahden lapsen isä, joka työskentelee seksuaalisena parantajana, koska haluaa opettaa muita ihmisiä rakastamaan itseään. Joskusi erilaisuuden kautta voi kokea totuutta, joka pätee useimpiin.
Videoporträttet berättar om den blinda transpersonen Aura, som har hittat ett sätt att uttrycka sin andlighet bland annat genom sexualiteten. Från tidiga år längtade hon att få uppleva den perfekta kärleken och detta ledde till svåra möten och invecklade förhållanden. Att Aura upplever sig själv som en flicka i en mans kropp har inte gjort det enklare. Men Aura fann sin egen lösning. Nu arbetar hen som sexhealer för att hen vill lära människor att älska sig själva. Ibland kan man genom det som verkar annorlunda, uppleva en sanning som gäller de flesta.
The Spiritual Life of A Spruce
HD video, charcoal animation, 2020, duration 8 min.
A charcoal animation based on meditation sessions in the forest. A message from nature. This animation is a part of the discussion about ecological and climate questions. There are three version with different languages: English, Finnish and Swedish.
The winter 2019-20 was almost snowless in Finland. Very often I went to the forest preserve area nearby, sat down beneath a tre and meditated. I felt nature was speaking to me. I wrote down every sentence that came to my mind. A part of this text resulted in this animation.
Charcoal drawings are a part of the gallery installation with the animation above.
© Gun Holmström 2020