Jere Vainio: Gasping for Tolerable Distances

A narrative of bodily and utilitarian qualities leading on to a path of neo-archaeological rediscovery and reinterpretation where cannibalisation surfaces through material and process. Unfinished appearances and technical accuracies create contrasts. Layering aspects of fragility and strength. Unbound by location or assisted apparatuses. Processes are a departure and a rapture. Giving motion for a nomadic-like less-restrictive movement.

Jere Vainio is dedicated to researching and developing the use of recycled wine bottle cork stoppers as a sustainable material for sculptural purposes. For his exhibition at HAM, he has stretched the material cork into new, interesting dimensions within the context of sculpture and printmaking. Creating a dialogue between textiles and sculptures, his practice questions expectations of production, resources and logistics in an artistic and daily context. Vainio explores possibilities and seeks alternative routes in the mundane, while developing techniques to induce material behaviour. This results in idiosyncratic material and conceptual solutions.

“For me, departure from industrial processes with a specific environment or equipment is important. I seek to find alternative ways that could be more economic and ecological, preventing a heavy burden of physical and emotional baggage that might surface through creative practices.”

Jere Vainio on Instagram

The exhibition is supported by The Paulo Foundation and Arts Promotion Centre Finland (Taike). Thank you to Cove Park and Saastamoinen Foundation.

In 2024, the exhibitions at HAM gallery are supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.