Politics of Visibility, Form & Diffractive Temporalities
Politics of Visibility, Form & Diffractive Temporalities
Lorena Articardi (b. 1992, Italian-Uruguayan) is an artist, researcher, and curator based in Helsinki, working with a research-based image practice –primarily photography and film. She describes her studio work as a material-discursive study on light, approaching light as both her medium and subject. Light compels her to work with mediums that engage the dimensionalities of time and space; it intersects with linearity and foregrounds a genealogy –an altered temporality and a situated positionality –a dis-position. The sampling gesture of capturing in frames is defined as much by what is light-inscribed as by the gaps that have been intently left unexposed. It makes the sampling gesture, the construction of meaning –visible; and with it, the political nature of form itself.
Her curatorial work turns to photography and film as sites where the ordinal in form is contested, where legibility must reckon with the erasures, the histories effaced by displacement –a process developed through experimental and expanded approaches that often take shape in montage and essayistic form. Her practice attends to the structures that regulate how images circulate and accrue meaning –the institutional, historical, and material devices that mediate what is possible to know or recognise. Through her approach, these structures can be reworked through accountable, non-extractive modes of inquiry, allowing epistemic margins, temporal dissonances, and other genealogies to be encountered through relational co-constitution.
She holds a Licentiate Degree in Image and Sound Engineering from Universidad Católica del Uruguay (2011–2017) and an MA in Photography from Aalto University, Finland (2021–2023), and has undertaken MFA studies at Trondheim Academy of Fine Arts, NTNU, Norway (2020–2021). Lorena has taught as an assistant professor at Universidad Católica del Uruguay (2017–2021). Since then, her practice has focused on archival research –preservation, restoration and contextual re-evaluation of film and photographic materials– developed through work with institutional and artist-run frameworks. She has carried out curatorial and archival work across Uruguay, Norway, Germany, and Finland –from developing film archives to working with private collections and artist-run initiatives. She is board member at Filmverkstaden (FI) and, also, a member of LaboratorioFAC (UY), part of the Contemporary Art Foundation (FAC). Her work is held in private collections in Finland and Germany, and has been exhibited in institutions such as the Finnish Museum of Photography FI, Tsinghua University Art Museum CN, and Museo Juan Manuel Blanes UY, and in ‘Jojaha-Paridad’, the 3rd International Art Biennale PY, among others.
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(Of Sunburns and Sunspots, Notebook Entry.). Even the brightest of stars bears dark spots –wears them as scars. All surfaces have an inscribed memory, and yet we’re squinting. The ground, the acrimony, the burn. The kiss, your touch, the burn. The sun, the tan, the burn. The salt will help you heal, it’ll wash the sand off your skin.
Publications
[Current]
2025-6, ‘Visualidades Expandidas’, as part of the ‘Panorama of Experimental Film Referents’ programme. Laboratorio FAC, Contemporary Art Foundation. Curated by Carolina Sobrino and Guillermo Zabaleta, together with Ángela López Ruiz, Sofía Martínez Frenkel, Ángel Pajares and Joel Pachas. Group Exhibition. Museo Juan Manuel Blanes. Montevideo UY.
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2025, 'Discourse at 16 fps', Gallery Week Finland. Fringe Gallery, Filmverkstaden. Vaasa FI.
2025, Guest Room: Felix Hoffmann, Mona Schubert & Marit Lena Herrmann. Der Grief, Organisation for Contemporary Photography. Munich DE.
2025, 'Discourse at 16 fps'. Curated by Julian Ross. Fringe Gallery, Filmverkstaden. Solo Exhibition. Vaasa FI.
2025, ‘Binding Structures’. Invited by Rebecca Sandelin. Razobill Gallery and Books. Solo Exhibition. Ekenäs FI.
2025, Spazio MAGMA, NABA –Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti. Group Exhibition. Rome IT.
2024, ‘Technophilia and the “New” Society’. Kulttuuritila Merirasti. Group Exhibition. Helsinki FI.
2024, ‘“Du tvingas reagera.”’. Föreningen Luckan. Solo Exhibition. Helsinki FI.
2023, Guest Room: Simon Baker & Aden Vincendeau. Der Grief, Organisation for Contemporary Photography. Munich DE.
2023, 'Dialogues: An Ode to Textile Stories'. Oodi Helsinki Central Library. Group exhibition. Helsinki FI.
2023, ‘Tides’. Espoo Cultural Centre. Group exhibition. Espoo FI.
2023, ‘Softcore’. V1 Gallery, Aalto University. Solo exhibition. Espoo FI.
2023, ‘MoA 23’. Finnish Museum of Photography. Group exhibition. Helsinki FI.
2022, ‘Panorámica Experimental’. Laboratorio FAC, Contemporary Art Foundation. Centro Cultural de España. Group Exhibition. Montevideo UY.
2022, ‘Anthology’. V1 Gallery, Aalto University. Solo exhibition. Espoo FI.
2022, ‘Daughter of Chaos’. V1 Gallery, Aalto University. Joint exhibition with artist Yujie Zhou. Espoo FI.
2021, ‘Material Thinking’. Tsinghua University Art Museum. Group Exhibition. Beijing CN.
2021, Shed. SALT, Nyhavna, Trondheim Kommune. Group Exhibition. Trondheim NO.
2020, Open Academy. Trondheim Academy of Fine Arts, Gallery KiT. Group Exhibition. Trondheim NO.
2020, ‘Rom’, collective zine published by Røyne Forlag. Trondheim Art Book Fair X. Litteraturhuset i Trondheim, and Trondheim Kunstmuseum Gråmølna. Trondheim NO.
2020, Trondheim Open. Trondheim Academy of Fine Arts, Gallery KiT. Group Exhibition. Trondheim NO.
2020, ‘Jojaha-Paridad’, 3rd International Art Biennale: Asunción PY. Laboratorio FAC, Contemporary Art Foundation. Group Exhibition.
2019, ‘JAM’. Laboratorio FAC, Contemporary Art Foundation. Group Exhibition. Centro Cultural de España. Montevideo UY.
{Upcoming, 2026-7}
‘Liminal Cartographies’. Curated by Salla Sorri and Lorena Articardi. Film Programme.
{Upcoming, 2026}
‘Enquiry for Ancestral Memory’. Curated by Ramiro Camelo (Myymälä2) and Julija Pociūtė (Pamenkalnio Gallery). Assistant Curator: Lorena Articardi. Group Exhibition.
Myymälä2. Helsinki FI; Pamenkalnio Gallery. Vilnius LT.
{Upcoming, 2026}
‘Frames’. Artist: Rebecca Sandelin. Razobill Gallery and Books. Solo Exhibition. Ekenäs FI.
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2022, 16th Issue (Co-Edited/Curated) –Uncertain States of Scandinavia, an artist-led quarterly broadsheet newspaper showcasing lens-based art. NW Gallery, Copenhagen Photo Festival, Copenhagen DK; and Supermarket Art Fair, Stockholm SE.
2019, ‘JAM’. Curated by: Ángela López Ruiz, Gonzalo Rodríguez Novellino, Guillermo Zabaleta, Lorena Articardi, and Martin Kroch. Group Exhibition. Laboratorio FAC, Contemporary Art Foundation. Group Exhibition. Centro Cultural de España. Montevideo UY.
2025, Invited by Rebecca Sandelin. Razobill Gallery and Books. Ekenäs FI.
2025, International Curatorial Residency: ’Enquiry for Ancestral Memory’. Invited by Myymälä2. Helsinki FI.
The 16th Issue of Uncertain States of Scandinavia was edited by Dagny Hay, Tor S Ulstein, Charlie Hay, Nina Worren and Lorena Articardi. Design By James Young. Printed by Polaris Trykk & Distribusjon Trondheim.
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Uncertain States Scandinavia, 16th Issue.
DA NO 916337027
Self-portraiture is framed between the self and its anonymity, between an uncovered truthful sight and the reflective character of the blank canvas. Between being artist, subject and that of a diminished control, torn by the seemingly dismissed or neglected act of having to give up looking through the viewfinder. Labelling photography as a mechanical means for reproduction echoes this of a diminished control –a consequence of the apparatus’s gradual filtering of light, a record that has no recollection of its blinding presence. As we choose to no longer stand behind the camera, we do still hear the shutter being triggered at our release; yet all our eyes can remember is that imprinted afterimage, a warm tainted retinal persistence produced by the firing of flashbulbs.
The 16th issue of Uncertain States Scandinavia includes a selection of artworks that approach self-portraiture through the lens of a vast range of practices, featuring the work of Henriette Sagfjord, Charlie Hay, Linda Hansen, Nina Worren, Leonard Vincent Rode, Sunniva Hestenes, Hans Jørgen Ro, Aage A. Mikalsen, Dagny Hay, Jeelena Rai, and Paulina Tamara Cid.
Henriette Sagfjord bends and deflects our notions of portraiture and landscape, inviting us to transpose that which lies within the self to the inherent poetry of an immense and seemingly uncharted nature. Self and nature are then indivisible, and the longing for divine grace pertaining to the romantic sublime is replaced by a will to root, to connect with what is already there, here, around. The mist, the moss, the underframe and foliage –set not a backdrop but rhythm; a score concealed as woven with one accord.
Drenched in see-through honesty, Charlie Hay’s work discloses a deep-rooted connection with space and landscape that exceeds what can be captured and attained by the camera; a connection that has also been made evident in its engagement with the material quality of the photochemical image. His imagery, by virtue of mood and metaphor, is concerned with what is there to be seen –though, this used to arise as ultimately unspoken of. Charlie’s self-portraiture, however, voices those thoughts with a humorous vein that is far from deflective –if anything, it salts wounds with utter care. Rattling between the mundane in our thoughts, the irrelevance and strangeness of our experiences, tedium –at large, an overwhelming existential boredom product of the pressure and delusional expectations attuned to contemporary life; what is then showcased is that which isn’t really visible. The artist craves to have us see through his eyes and so casts light upon his very personal distorted notions of self.
Linda Hansen’s self-portraiture finds her posing as a vessel for a relatable whole and plural self –who is battling and afflicted by the usual same. Her work has us look closely at the fleeting and transient; taking the form of a staged symbolically-charged stillness which is drawn from the ephemeral. The lack of relevance or persistence attributed to the locations depicted by the artist, strengthens our acknowledgement of a relevant yet fugitive fading existence. It is relevant as it is worthy of becoming subject, regardless of carrying along with it the weight of experience –a weight capable of scarring both mind and body.
Once again, attuned to an approach that looks at self-portraiture as one capable of conveying a narrative that surpasses the identity and individuality of the self –while heavily reliant on the self-referential and intimate–; Nina Worren’s practice directs our seeing towards junctures that feel loaded with the distinctive angst of the in-between. What is to be looked at is the unremarkable quotidian. It is either the clear-cut lengthy pauses or those moments that go easily unnoticed, concealed in the blink of an eye, which are to set the tone for her alluring hazy depictions of the everyday.
Youth Revisited warps time by the agency of re-enactment; through holding onto the fixed invariable and evoking remembrance, through reinforcing memory’s unreliable and fluid character. In a rose-coloured collection of mundane anchored moments, Leonard Vincent Rode retraces his steps and ventures into the customary known using photography as a means to resurface and dust off old omens. By engaging in this act of performance as an isolated self –as much as a collective plurality of moments and voices–, what is in essence portrayed is their convergence and the subtle nuances of experience.
In a compelling balance between that which is explicit and that which could be described as metaphorically charged, Sunniva Hestenes’ crude imagery explores time-bound traces and tainted memories in the light of grief and the complexity –thus, often burden– related to bloodline relationships. Whether grief is presented as attached to the memory of a person or as product of the generalized notions and conventional attributions tied to the idea of motherhood, the determination that allows us to term Sunniva’s narrative as playfully inconclusive leaves room for semiotic readings between the lines and a bumpy –though seamless– flickering through pictorial symbolism.
With his series Saturn Return, Hans Jørgen Ro aims to dissect a time of distress as the likeness of distant memories that have taken the form of a clear image –a repetitive token of troubled waters passed. Whether cosmic or casual, memories live on in our bodies, latent; they keep us alert as we have come to terms with the uneasiness of having no real control. In contrast, his photography comes across as perfectly calculated, harmonically composed, with no room for stellar chaos other than that of a lingering calm tension. We are faced with a shift in perception, the stillness of the image breaks off a downward spiral motion; Hans is, therefore, able to look back at himself in a manner that feels both estranged and oddly familiar.
Challenging a lens-based preconception of –not solely image-making, but primarily– self-portraiture, Aage A. Mikalsen’s project deals with a take on imaging that’s fairly aggressive. It bears the capacity to produce an imprint that lives on as more than an immediate object or kinship. Have it be radiation or mere self imposed projections that are product of our mind, we are faced with an image for which we may lack the literacy required to comprehend. Still tangled to the idea of belief as reliant on what is to be seen with our own eyes; the question remains, is all other sensory reading dismissable at the lack of appearance, at the lack of foreseeable visible proof?
Foul winding cycles, beaming blue-light screens, the ticking of clocks, and the heavy sorrow of an anguished and restless youth dawn on Dagny Hay as she conceived the Empress of Light; a ruthless warrior, an alter ego –a duality that has now merged as one with the artist. Blinded and enlightened by an allegory that feeds on contradictions, her embodied pathos illustrates this turmoil; –she is impatient and fearless, she is the antagonist on the verge of entropy. Over the use of a luminous deistic representation that decisively references popular culture, Dagny is looked at –and, most definitely, looked up to–; furthermore, she dauntlessly looks back and becomes semblance. A leitmotif –The likeness of an idea, blazing light in the darkest hour.
Paper People comes across as puckish and blithesome. Jeelena Rai’s wonderland presumes the two-dimensionality of paper cut-outs as breezy, and the pixel-based grid of her medium as what breathes life into her self-portraiture practice. Nailing an unyielded material presence of the repeatedly overlooked digital capacity for texture, Jeleena’s series seeks refuge for the emotionally burdensome in flirty and colourful compositions that, yet again, pair collage techniques with worldmaking practices.
Standing on the shoulders of giants –in reference to how Undress draws inspiration from Jemima Stehli’s series Strip, 1990-2000–, Paulina Tamara Cid gives a queer shift to the many well-established preluding stances based on a male gaze critique. Instead, the series has us women engage with how we look at each other; bringing forwards –often unuttered– issues amongst which we find consent, domain, and the roles of both subject and object –the ways in which they are different and the ways in which they are essentially seen as same. Photography is then document, and the shutter release becomes a trigger for discussion, an imprint of control, an affect of our gaze.
Edited/Curated by: Dagny Hay, Tor S Ulstein, Charlie Hay, Nina Worren and Lorena Articardi.
Artists: Henriette Sagfjord, Charlie Hay, Linda Hansen, Nina Worren, Leonard Vincent Rode, Sunniva Hestenes, Hans Jørgen Ro, Aage A. Mikalsen, Dagny Hay, Jeelena Rai, and Paulina Tamara Cid.