fragments of a landscape

installation Fragment of a Landscape is based on the history of landscape paintings from the Vyborg Historical Museum that were destroyed during the bombings of the Second World War. Some of the works were transferred in time to the collections of, among others, the museums in Lahti and Lappeenranta, but of others only catalogue entries remain, in which the works are recorded by size or subject - no images of these paintings exist.

The installation examines the ways in which landscape is attempted to be preserved. Composed of archival fragments, the artwork plays with absence: the landscape is not present as images or spatial elements. The installation is constructed from Stone Age axes found in the Karelian Isthmus that survived the bombings, the Guide catalogue of the Vyborg Museum from 1909, and landscape paintings owned by Tuominen’s Vyborg-born grandmother’s family. The installation is complemented by a performance by Tuominen that takes place during the exhibition.

photos: Tuure Leppänen