MÄNTTÄ.- The exhibition playground / leikkikenttä at Serlachius Museums in Mänttä presents a new development in Elina Brotherus’ work. The photographs and video works from 2016–18 are humorous and adventurous and at the same time absurd. They take their inspiration from the ‘event scores’ of the 1960s’ Fluxus artists.

Fluxus artists were typically arbitrary, whimsical and absurdist in their work. These pioneers of conceptual and performance art used everyday life, chance operations and humour in their practice. Truly international, they opened up questions about what could and could not be considered art.

Elina Brotherus has worked for two decades with photographs and moving image. Recurring themes in the artist’s work have often been autobiographical or linked to art history as well as the interaction between the human figure and landscape. She has photographed herself throughout her entire career.

Brotherus adopted as a starting point for her work the ‘event scores’ developed by the artist George Brecht in the early 1960s. Interpreting these in her own style she has expanded the idea of a score, also seeking inspiration from film makers, poets, painters and photographers. In many works, she has collaborated with the dancer and choreographer Vera Nevanlinna.

The exhibition also includes new works, in which Brotherus partners with the sculptor Erwin Wurm and the Austrian avant-garde feminist artist VALIE EXPORT.

The result is an exceptionally rich series of photographs and short videos that turn a new page in Brotherus’ production. The exhibition, overflowing with energy, creates a link between artists over the decades. A continuum, extending from the past to the present, challenges the artist and encourages the viewer to reflect on the nature of art, history, repetition, authorship and interpretation.

Brotherus won the prestigious Carte blanche PMU award in France in autumn 2017. The exhibition Règle du jeu / Rules of the Game, associated with the award, was shown in the Pompidou Centre in Paris. A more extensive exhibition playground / leikkikenttä, continuing with the same thematic, is now presented at Serlachius Museum Gustaf. The exhibition is curated by Dr Susan Bright.

Elina Brotherus' work has been given prominence in numerous art and photography books and magazines. She has previously published eight monographs. In connection with the exhibition playground / leikkikenttä, a limited edition hand-made box is released in 250 numbered and signed copies, that contains all the exhibited works on separate cards.