Counterspells is an ongoing project that I have been working on in 2023-2024.
Using fiction, material experiments, and spatial compositions, the work explores the idea of counterspell as a social practice, a form of resistance, and a tool for surviving a precarious life.
So far, the body of work consists of an experimental short film, texts, textile pieces, soundscapes, ceramic sculptures, and materials gathered from streets, dumpsters, yards, and beaches.
I have been working with clay and soap, as well as building assemblages where the miniature sculptures and tiles are mixed with found objects, pillows, sound loops, food, living plants, video screens, and plastic waste - turning them into poetic piles, transient monuments, secret corridors, landscapes, and paths. The film spreads into the space, and the space into the film.
In 2023 the first fragments of the project were exhibited in Helsinki and Tampere:
My solo exhibition Ray, Phantom, Amulet / Säde, haamu ja Amuletti at Pajagalleria,
and a group exhibition Larva at Haihara Mansion.
Using fiction, material experiments, and spatial compositions, the work explores the idea of counterspell as a social practice, a form of resistance, and a tool for surviving a precarious life.
So far, the body of work consists of an experimental short film, texts, textile pieces, soundscapes, ceramic sculptures, and materials gathered from streets, dumpsters, yards, and beaches.
I have been working with clay and soap, as well as building assemblages where the miniature sculptures and tiles are mixed with found objects, pillows, sound loops, food, living plants, video screens, and plastic waste - turning them into poetic piles, transient monuments, secret corridors, landscapes, and paths. The film spreads into the space, and the space into the film.
In 2023 the first fragments of the project were exhibited in Helsinki and Tampere:
My solo exhibition Ray, Phantom, Amulet / Säde, haamu ja Amuletti at Pajagalleria,
and a group exhibition Larva at Haihara Mansion.
Documentation of Counterspells part 1 (2023) at Larva exhibition, Haihara Mansion
Video on screen at floor level, recycled textiles, ceramics, plant parts, phthalo green pigment, packaging plastic, snake skin, aluminum foil, natural stones, food coloring, unfired clay, acrylic, bones, modeling wax, soap sculptures, fishing line, mirror shards, pieces of glass ball, a plant, potato flour, plastic - and metal waste, paper, clothesline, magnetic tape, tile, cross stitch, peas, mouthwash, iron wire, plexiglass, candle
Video stills
Video on screen at floor level, recycled textiles, ceramics, plant parts, phthalo green pigment, packaging plastic, snake skin, aluminum foil, natural stones, food coloring, unfired clay, acrylic, bones, modeling wax, soap sculptures, fishing line, mirror shards, pieces of glass ball, a plant, potato flour, plastic - and metal waste, paper, clothesline, magnetic tape, tile, cross stitch, peas, mouthwash, iron wire, plexiglass, candle
Video stills
Sculptures and details
Sculptures and details
Sonic sculpture Phantom bowl (2023)
Ceramics, water, green food colour, axoloti, electronics, recycled textile, sound
Ceramics, water, green food colour, axoloti, electronics, recycled textile, sound
Heta Bilaletdin - Ray, phantom, amulet
Pajagalleria 7.4.–30.4. 2023
Video loop, music, recycled textiles, ceramics, phthalo green pigment, aluminum foil, natural stones, ragweed, acrylic, soap sculptures, lime, a seed of an unknown tree, pieces of a mirror, and a glass ball, tulips, potato flour, paper, plastic and metal waste, a bone found on the beach, dried habaneros, my old floor lamp, food coloring, recycled yarn, duct tape, magnetic tape, melatonin
Still life built from discarded materials, a scattered mosaic, another dimension, a plastic path, soothing slime, a temporary escape, a squatted area, a message written on a leek, a loop, and a spell.
Pajagalleria 7.4.–30.4. 2023
Video loop, music, recycled textiles, ceramics, phthalo green pigment, aluminum foil, natural stones, ragweed, acrylic, soap sculptures, lime, a seed of an unknown tree, pieces of a mirror, and a glass ball, tulips, potato flour, paper, plastic and metal waste, a bone found on the beach, dried habaneros, my old floor lamp, food coloring, recycled yarn, duct tape, magnetic tape, melatonin
Still life built from discarded materials, a scattered mosaic, another dimension, a plastic path, soothing slime, a temporary escape, a squatted area, a message written on a leek, a loop, and a spell.
The work is supported by Kone Foundation, huge thank you !