A Conversation with Salla Tykkä

Istanbul Modern introduced Salla Tykkä, one of the artists featured in “La La La Human Steps”, with its viewers. Also featuring Dirimart Garibaldi program coordinator Heinz Peter Schwerfel, the main focus of the talk was two pieces of work by the artist: “Zoo,” which will be shown at Dirimart Garibaldi in April, and “Power,” included in the “La La La Human Steps” exhibition.

Salla Tykkä’s work, emphasizing the conflicts of discrepancies, is about the power dynamics in the visual narratives of daily life, voyeurism, sexual identity, obsession, perfectionism, and visual and auditory memory. Tykkä’s film and video installations tell stories where the protagonist runs into unexpected events, conflicts, and awkward situations. Focused on the usually female protagonist’s inner frustrations, these films and series of photographs create rich visual landscapes with their cinematic form and impeccable editing technique.

Gained recognition with the 35 mm. film trilogies produced between 2000 and 2003, Tykkä’s almost surreal film “Zoo” from 2006 tells the story of a woman who drowns and kills herself in a lake inside an abandoned zoo. An early work, Power is dedicated to the artist’s parents. In the film, a woman who’s naked but her boxing shorts and gloves faces a man bigger than her in an imaginary ring, and the two opponents examine each other with music playing.

Salla Tykkä’s video “Zoo” can be viewed at Dirimart Garibaldi between April 10 – May 12 during the selection “Storytellers: Art and Cinema Today” curated by Heinz Peter Schwerfel. “La La La Human Steps,” featuring Tykkä’s work “Power,” will run through May 6 at Istanbul Modern.

This event is organized in collaboration with Dirimart Garibaldi.