Suvi Aarnio • Johanna Havimäki • Marja Helander • Kirsti Kotilainen • Heta Kuchka • Curated by Anna McGowan

This group exhibition is curated by Anna McGowan, a recent graduate of the MA Arts Policy and Practice in Huston School of Film and Digital Media, NUI Galway. Bad (L)attitudes investigates the reclamation of the female body and traditional female modes of expression in the work of five contemporary female Finnish artists. 

From Heta Kuchka’s unflinchingly confrontational video pieces to Johanna Havimäki’s fantastical beasts, a tool common to each artist’s arsenal is the use of traditional signifiers of femininity to examine the tropes and realities of life as a woman both in Finland and in modern society as a whole. All the artists involved use an irreverent, wry brand of humour to explore the subject matter, unafraid to address dark issues with a burst of jarring laughter. 

This exhibition aims to demonstrate the striking and surprising commonalities between Finland, a country that is regularly touted as one of the most progressive in the world in terms of gender equality, and Ireland, which the UN has singled out as a violator of international human rights based on its treatment of women.[1]

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[1]Amnesty International, Ireland Must Amend Abortion Laws After Sharp UN Criticism (2014) <https://www.amnesty.ie/news/ireland-must-amend-abortion-laws-after-sharp-un-criticism>