LOCATION: Outdoor exhibition at Slottsparkens stage MAP
Emma Sarpaniemi is an artist based in Helsinki, who explores definitions of femininity through humorous and performative self-portraits. Sarpaniemi aims to shake up conventional notions of femininity, and by turning playfulness into a resource, she recognizes possibilities for new ways of being.
Two Ways to Carry a Cauliflower (2021– ongoing) is a performative photography series exploring women’s self-portraiture. To free the subject and the gaze from certain patriarchal ideals of femininity, the subject depicted in the images is portrayed playfully and tenderly as a woman who behaves, looks, and performs on her own terms and rules. Identity, reality, and imagination become blurred in the world formed by Sarpaniemi. She is not creating an alter-ego or distancing herself from the character; instead, she creates a representation of her identity in which the artist can recognize herself.
Emma Sarpaniemi holds a BA in Photography from The Royal Academy of Art (KABK) The Hague. Her work has been exhibited in Finland and internationally including Les Rencontres d’Arles festival and the European Month of Photography Luxembourg festival. Her work is in public and private collections in Finland, The Netherlands and Switzerland.
