Photo from the installation.
Glimmers is a mixed-media installation which documents personal experiences of glimmers - subtle, calm moments that regulate the nervous system and are known in psychology as the opposite of triggers. In response to a city life where stress is often normalized, the artist embarked on a four-day field trip to the Saimaa region, intentionally disconnecting from overstimulation to invite quiet signals of safety and explore the question: What are glimmers and how can we create space for them?
Inspired by acoustic ecology, moments of tranquility arise from attuning to the region’s environmental soundscapes. Through engaging in sonic meditations and rituals from regional folklore, the experiences of these practices are documented through field recordings, photographs, journal notes and film.
Field recordings made in the abandoned Väärätalo shopping mall serve as a metaphor for the lingering remnants of a bygone lifestyle, echoing the emotional structures that we may still carry within us as we shift towards new ways of being. The escape from the mall mirrors the escape from a former self. Visitors are invited to reflect on and respond to the question: What moments make you feel safe?
The installation was shown in Välillä Väärässä, an experimental contemporary art exhibition which took place at the abandoned hotel–nightclub building Väärätalo in Imatra, Finland. Created in collaboration with the City of Imatra and Aalto University’s Department of Art and Media, the building’s in-between state shaped works made from its found materials and site-specific histories, bringing together media installations, spatial works, performances, sound pieces, photography, drawing, a wall painting, and a radio program - opening a threshold between what has been and what is yet to come.
2025, mixed media, quadraphonic, installation
GLimmers at välillä väälässä, Imatra, 2025
Photos by Markus Skraba and Pia Euro.
exhibition flyerS
Graphic Design by Zina Marpe. Photo by Gabriella Presnal.