Faithfull to its editorial motto of “constant surprise and reinvention”, Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo hosts AWAKENING. AWAKENING is the second group exhibition presented by Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo in a series devoted to Discoveries/Countries, a series that will in the future alternate with solo and/or thematic exhibitions. AWAKENING shines a spotlight on the contemporary Finnish scene through the most recent works of Finnish artists Pekka JYLHÄ, Hannaleena HEISKA and Sami SÄNPÄKKILÄ.

For this loosely thematic exhibition, independent curator KÖÖNIKKÄ (who served as curator for the Finnish Pavilion at 2011 Venice Biennale) has selected artists who create artworks that communicate with the curiosities and peculiarities of life. All pieces displayed in our gallery can be interpreted in the light of the title, AWAKENING which refers not only to the things we all perceive, but can also be understood as simply being aware.

Here, poetry and uncertainty compete with a sleepless state to create a multi-sensorial experience. The panel of trends and media has been enlarged such as to include sound installation and music.

In the dimmed and quasi-mystique atmosphere of a modern cave-like setting, we invite you to discover the peculiarities of life viewed through different lenses, from Surrealist-like to Goth culture. We hope you will enjoy the combination of an acute sense for perception of the surroundings and imaginative ways of observation, which we found is characteristic of each of these artists.

Espace Louis Vuitton Tokyo is very grateful to the artists and to the curator for their sustained devotion to this project. We especially want to thank Pekka JYLHÄ, Hannaleena HEISKA and Sami SÄNPÄKKILÄ who conceived and produced most of the pieces on display but who also accepted to loan previous artworks enabling us to re-contextualize their interest for mystifying mundane objects and happenings in the form of an artwork. We also would like to express our gratitude to the Embassy of Finland in Tokyo and the Finnish Institute in Japan for their insightful support throughout the preparation of this project.