Displaced
November 4–22, 2024
Graphics Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk
Wydzial Grafiki, ul. Chlebnicka 13/16, 80-830 Gdansk
Curated by Dominik Wlodarek

The exhibition “Displaced” presents Ari Pelkonen and Tatu Tuominen, two of Finland’s prominent contemporary printmakers. Having worked as artists for almost two decades, Pelkonen and Tuominen have established themselves in the Finnish art scene and gained international recognition. As long-time lecturers at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki, Pelkonen and Tuominen have made significant contributions in innovative ways of teaching printmaking.
In “Displaced”, the printed image is reimagined. It moves from its traditional context into new territory — one where the conventions of original print no longer apply, and where the process itself becomes a subject of exploration alongside the finished artwork.
While developing his series, Ari Pelkonen focused on the two key elements of printed art – paper and printing ink. He took an ontological approach to printmaking, disrupting the traditional relationship between the two producing an unprecedented material enigma. The vibrant colour layers have been set afloat and resettled into a veil-like formation on paper. This work explores colour as both a haptic and visual material.
Tatu Tuominen‘s work draws on 17th-century imagery of death, as he appropriates and prints four-hundred-year-old etchings from the online collections of major museums. His production method is a hybrid of computer-operated plotting and traditional etching techniques. By reproducing, altering, and presenting these historical images in a contemporary context, Tuominen transforms past narratives, offering insights that resonate in today’s world, shaped by war and ecological catastrophe.
A New Approach to Printmaking
In Displaced, printmaking is presented as an ever-evolving medium, continuously responding to shifts in the changing landscape of media. Works in the exhibition are densely connected to concepts outside of the realm of art, such as art history and new-materialism. They challenge notions of originality, the printmaking process, presentation practices, and even the role of printing ink. The exhibition is a demonstration of the ongoing evolution of printmaking as a versatile medium in the heart of contemporary art.
The exhibition has been supported by The Arts Promotion Centre Finland and The Finnish Cultural Foundation.

