Eija-Liisa Ahtila

Eija-Liisa Ahtila: A pioneer of cinematic narrative

The Finnish artist Eija-Liisa Ahtila is one of the world’s most influential and internationally renowned figures in contemporary video art. She sees herself, in the broadest sense, as a ‘visual artist’ whose work, whilst fundamentally based on moving images, effortlessly transcends the boundaries of a wide variety of media, such as photography, sculpture and painting. Of particular importance to her is the classic art of ‘storytelling’. However, Ahtila radically breaks with the linear viewing habits of traditional cinema. Through a masterful combination of fragmented narration and an innovative approach to time and space, she creates kaleidoscopic installations. By projecting films simultaneously onto several screens distributed throughout the space, she compels the audience to take on an active role. Viewers must piece together the various visual layers in their own minds – the story thus emerges only in the eye of the beholder and within the physical space of the gallery.

Her works, which are often psychologically intense, explore existential human themes: identity crises, mental instability, grief, sexuality and the fragile boundary between inner reality and the outside world.

The retrospective at K21 and the masterpiece ‘Where is Where?’

A milestone in her career was the major, comprehensive retrospective held in 2008 at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (K21) in Düsseldorf. As part of this exhibition, she presented her most complex, political and elaborate video installation to date: ‘Where is Where?’ (‘Missä on missä?’). The monumental 4-channel projection interweaves two events that are far apart in both space and time:

The historical tragedy: The murder of a French boy by two Algerian youths in 1957 during the Algerian War – an act understood as a desperate reaction to the atrocities committed by the French colonial rulers.

The present: A contemporary Finnish poet who, in her home amidst the solitude of Finland, attempts to come to terms with this historical trauma, both intellectually and emotionally.

In “Where is Where?”, Ahtila poses radical questions about collective guilt, Western arrogance, colonialism and the way in which historical violence continues to reverberate into our globalised present. At K21, the audience finds itself surrounded by four gigantic screens, drawing them physically into the film’s moral and emotional conflict.

Ralph Goertz accompanied the artist as she set up her exhibition and had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with her about her work and her creative process. Thank you very much!