Butterfly vest.
Pigment and wax on paper, attached to vest. Perhosliivit. Pigmenttiä ja vahaa paperille , kiinnitetty liiveihin, 2023.
A butterfly collection found at a flea market ended up as the artist’s material. The original collection was from the 1960s–1980s and has already been destroyed. Harmaala says: “I collected butterflies for one summer when I was a kid. In the autumn, the collection fell on the floor and broken. I wrote down my experiences and memories that fall somewhere between true and untrue. I rebuilt my childhood butterfly collection.” The work includes photographs of the collection, butterflies made of paper and short texts. The installation features butterfly wings attached to clothing that viewers can wear.
Kirpputorilta löydetty perhoskokoelma päätyi taiteilijan materiaaliksi. Alkuperäinen kokoelma oli 1960–1980-luvuilta ja se on jo tuhoutunut. Harmaala kertoo: ”Keräilin perhosia yhden kesän ajan lapsena. Syksyllä kokoelma putosi lattialle ja meni rikki. Kirjoitin ylös kokemuksiani ja muistojani, jotka ovat jossain toden ja valheen välimaastossa. Rakensin lapsuuden perhoskokoelmani uudelleen.” Teos sisältää valokuvia kokoelmasta, paperista tehtyjä perhosen siipiä ja lyhyitä tekstejä. Installaatiossa on vaatteisiin kiinnitettyjä perhosen siipiä, joihin yleisö voi pukeutua.
A guide for collectors. Installation, 2024.
A book about butterfly collecting, butterflies made of wax and paper, preparation tray for butterfly wings, poisoning container.
Opas perhosten keräilijöille. Kirja, vahasta ja paperista tehtyjä perhosia, muita välineitä.
Installation, part 2. Embroidered canvas, wax on paper, wood. Installaation toinen osa, kirjailtu kangas, vahaa paperille, puuta.
Butterfly stories. Eight stories about butterflies in Finnish .
Pigment, wax, ink on paper. Perhostarinoita.
Kahdeksan tarinaa perhosista, pigmentti, vaha, muste paperille, 33 x 34 cm, 2023.
“It is safe to do everyday things routinely according to the same schedule. Life is unpredictable and constantly changing. The smallest things can lead to big changes. Meteorologist Edward Lorenz speculated that if a butterfly flaps its wings in Brazil, it may later cause a tornado in Texas.”
“I was fishing with my dad all night. Dad sang about a bird that gets to fly away. But man is a prisoner of the earth.
Dad said he had written a poem about a butterfly. Decades later, I find a piece of paper with something written in my dad’s handwriting, crossed out and erased.”
“Nightlife has different rules. You can dance, sing, be mysterious and more beautiful than during the day. In the evening, moths notice the light. They can’t stop dancing around the lantern. They burn their wings in a candle. Maybe I’m a butterfly, the singer sings”.
A broken collection.
Photo print mounted on dipondi, wooden frame. Rikkoutunut kokoelma. Valokuvatuloste dipondille, puukehys. 40 x 50 cm, 2023.
A butterfly collection.
Photo print mounted on dipondi, wooden frame. Perhoskokoelma. Valokuvatuloste dipondille, puukehys. 40 x 50 cm, 2023.
The audience dressed in butterfly wings. Yleisö pukeutui perhosen siipiin. Huuto Galleria, 2024.