BE|LONGING

Be|longing is an ongoing art project , which has started in 2021 when Matilda's grandmother, Kirsti Löytty passed away and her artworks came to Matilda's possession. It presents a series of  exhibitions in Finland and Namibia and is documented through comics. The exhibitions include paintings, animations  and music of three generations by Kirsti, Sakari and Matilda Löytty. The installations tie together experiences living and working in and between Namibia and Finland. The project explores and experiments with what kind of new levels and meanings can be created with art that builds on the old and how similar experiences are seen in different ages. The exhibition artistically deals with belonging and longing, home and loss, constantly being on the move and the dialogue between music and visual arts. Through making art, the question arises whether cooperation can reach beyond the grave?

 

Matilda works with painting and animations. Currently having in her possession the majority of her grandmother’s life’s artistic work, she is in the midsts of archiving the paintings and having a “visual dialogue” with them through creating new paintings and animations about them. The exhibition will present original paintings and drawings done by Kirsti Löytty and their counterparts -the paintings done by Matilda. Some paintings are done in cooperation, for example the last ever drawing of Kirsti Löytty, which she never finished, is finalised by Matilda.

 

Kirsti Löytty lived and worked in Namibia in the 50s and 60s. She returned to Namibia later in her life and reflected on Namibian sceneries and people in her art. Matilda lived her childhood in Namibia and later did her BA and MA degree artistic researches in the country.  The installations feature music composed and performed by musician and composer Dr Sakari Löytty who was born in Namibia and has been living and working in the country over 20 years. He has conducted research on northern Namibian traditional music and worked together with many local musicians. His compositions are influenced by African acoustic guitar styles, as well as the folk and blues traditions, including Finnish folk music. Each of the exhibitions present live music by Sakari Löytty and other Finnish and Namibian musicians. 

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As the project evolves, more updates will be made on this page. You can also follow the project on instagram through the keyword #belongingartproject