Artist Katriina Haikala has already immortalised the faces of 900 women on paper. For many, the experience of being seen is so powerful that it ends in tears.
– When I draw, I don’t look at the paper at all, but intensely at the person in front of me. With this method, I want to emphasise the experience of being seen and recognised.
Around the gallery, other patrons watch the pencil line progress on the white paper. Women wait in line for their turn.
Portrait drawing is a social event, where the audience is very much present.
The situation is intimate and emotional
Katriina Haikala from Helsinki draws at the A.I.R. gallery in Brooklyn, where her exhibition opened last weekend. It is his first solo exhibition in New York.
Haikala already sent an exhibition application to the prestigious gallery three years ago. Due to the pandemic, the date was moved and the departure was postponed.
– I feel that the stars were now in the right position. The waiting time was good for the project and I feel more confident myself, says the artist, who Yle reached by phone from New York.
They are quite ordinary women of different ages who want a portrait of themselves.
– Even though there are other people around, the situation is intimate and emotional, almost meditative, Haikala describes.
He has noticed that especially for Finnish women, the moment is often particularly sensitive.
– I have seen a lot of tears in front of me, but also a lot of joy.
It takes 10-15 minutes to draw one portrait. That’s a long time to be seen.
– When someone sees you, you exist. When you become seen and heard, no one can deny your existence. It’s a touching experience.
Katriina Haikala has brought 900 of her portrait drawings to the A.I.R. gallery. Some can be seen on the wall, some as a large pile of paper in the exhibition hall.
With the Social Portrait project, Haikala wants to \”balance art history\” and that’s why she only draws portraits of women.
– The history of art is the history of power. Traditionally, portraits have been made of people who have a high position in society. The face of power has belonged to men.
– I make women visible.
While drawing women in Rome, Haikala received feedback from Italian women that the experience was empowering for them because no one judged and criticized them or their appearance. They could just be.
In a prison in Madrid, he drew female prisoners in the prison auditorium. Others sat in the stands watching the drawing.
– The prisoners were like in a church. Peace and respect descended on the space.
“I want to contribute to the social debate”
Katriina Haikala stresses that equality belongs to everyone.
– For everyone, regardless of ethnic origin, gender, age or financial background. Oppression and discrimination have been the target of many groups of people, not only women.
In her art, Haikala brings up political issues, such as human rights and equality.
– I make art because I want to influence the social debate and help people understand each other.
Haikalan has made performances, visual art, and photo and video works.
– Next year I will start working with homeless women. I want to remind you that they are equal, even if they don’t fit into the frame and concept of a good life.
However, social portraiture still remains the main job.
– It will probably continue for the rest of my life, because it is so important to me as well. It has become my life’s work.
*The exhibition Social Portrait is on display at the A.I.R. gallery in New York until November 13, 2022.*