COVE PARK, SKOTLAND 2024
25 – 30 March 2024
SALT collective is a three headed collective and is currently establishing a land-sea relationship. Through various modes of exchange between the two spaces we realise a continuous body of artistic work. Between 2023-2026 we are operating around the globe with our satellite studio in the form of a sailboat. While one of us (Sandström) is navigating the studio, the other two members (Heikinheimo & Grass) stay on land. The material collected from and around the transnational locations are the base for our collective’s practice.
Our works exist within a transformative cycle and show stories of origins, ongoing relationships and entangled ways of being that, simultaneously provide and destroy, grow and dissolve. The media used range from photography to installation, and collectively question how transformation can be documented.
SALT’s members Jaakko Heikinheimo & Myriam Gras are present at Cove Residency, while Niklas Sandström is currently located at the Pacific.
VILLA KARO, BENIN, WEST AFRICA
Audessous - Solo exhibion 2024-2025
Jaakko Heikinheimo
Georgette Singbe, Curator, Director of Musée Karo
Emonie Ayiwe, Co-curator of Musée Karo
Gérard Nassikinhan, Technical Manager of exhibition spaces
"Audessous" exhibition was exhibited at Musée Karo while I was in residence at the Finnish Cultural Institute for West Africa. The exhibition critically examined how unseen events shape belief systems in both Benin and Finland, revealing the ways in which cultural perceptions are influenced by imperceptible forces. The research underpinning the exhibition was grounded in an interdisciplinary approach, drawing from anthropology, philosophy, and visual arts to construct a dialogue between different epistemological frameworks.
Over 500 photographs and four sculptures were presented, each engaging with the theme of the unseen as a determinant of cultural narratives. The photographic series documented spaces, artifacts, and everyday moments that serve as silent agents of belief formation. By juxtaposing images from distinct geographical and sociocultural contexts, the exhibition sought to highlight the universality of these imperceptible yet profound influences.
The sculptural installations, crafted through material experimentation, embodied the intangible forces that shape communal consciousness. By utilizing forms and textures that referenced both traditional Beninese artistic practices and contemporary Nordic aesthetics, the sculptures operated as liminal objects that transcended geographical boundaries. Their physicality invited viewers to engage with the unseen on a sensory level, reinforcing the notion that belief is often constructed through interaction with material surroundings.
Through this body of work, the exhibition proposed an alternative framework for understanding how societies shape and are shaped by phenomena that evade direct observation. By employing visual and spatial strategies, "Audessous" emphasized the ways in which belief systems are continuously negotiated through subtle, often unnoticed encounters. In doing so, the exhibition encouraged critical engagement with the unseen as an active force in both personal and collective experience.
Villa Karo
Villa Karo is the Finnish Institute for West-Africa, which is located in the village of Grand-Popo, Benin, West Africa. The institute's goal is to enhance the African knowledge of Finnish cultural figures, promote collaboration between Finnish and African artists and researchers as well as to support Finland and Benin’s cultural exchange.
Villa Karo provides professionals across different fields of art, science and social sectors an opportunity for a residency in Benin while functioning as a cultural center in Grand-Popo.
Pic by Tuomas Uusheimo