Wednesday 5 September 2012

SHE FUSES ART WITH FASHION

Photo: Juliana Harkki

Where do art and fashion meet? Ask the question in Helsinki this autumn, and the answer will most definitely be Boutique. The recently opened interdisciplinary art exhibition has turned one of the most renowned museums in the Finnish capital – Amos Anderson Art Museum – into a temporary imaginative department store. The Finnish Institute in London talked to Annamari Vänskä, the mother of the exhibition and speaker at the upcoming HEL/LO 3 talk, about breaking the boundaries of art and fashion. 
Bodily norms, sustainability in fashion production, class in relation to clothing  – these are some of the themes covered by the works of art shown at Boutique. All works on display have been created by teams consisting of one designer and one artist, and the concept of collaboration has been important throughout the project, curator Annamari Vänskä points out.
– Each of these works is such that neither of the parties could have realised it alone. Boutique underlines communal spirit in making art, fashion and interesting exhibitions.

The artists and designers that have turned the Amos Anderson Art Museum into a multi-art fashion house have all been hand picked by Vänskä. With this exhibition, Vänskä, who is an expert on visual culture, wanted to explore the possibilities that arise when art and fashion are introduced to each other. 
–  Boutique has brought in audiences that have never visited the museum, and the show has been considered to be something that has never been done in art or fashion prior to this. I think Boutique breaks the boundaries of art and fashion in many ways. Or maybe rather, it brings them together in a way that is new and refreshing to both fields.

Vänskä is currently a post-doctoral fellow at the Centre for Fashion Studies at the University of Stockholm in Sweden. Her recent publications include a book on children's representations in fashion advertising. For Vänskä, the visual culture is like a horn of plenty, with much pleasure and at the same time food for critical thinking and writing. 
– I’m fascinated by the surprise of the yet unknown when different fields come together. I think the exhibition shows the importance of cooperation – not only in art and fashion, but in life more generally.
Annamari Vänskä will take part in the HEL/LO – Let’s Talk About Alternatives discussion held 12 September at Paviljonki in Helsinki.
Jenni Tuovinen