Mia Hamari - Sanctuary of Dreams

Sculptor Mia Hamari's dreamlike works interweave the past and the present, reality and fiction. The wooden figures carved with an axe resemble memories of a bygone era. They are battered, weather-beaten depictions of human figures that have begun to transform into strange, alien forms.

Mia Hamari's primary material is wood. She often uses her favourite tool, the axe, to work on her sculptures, frequently incorporating natural materials, horsehair, stones, iron, glass, bronze and old objects into them. Hamari works with larger pieces outdoors, where the weather and the changing of the seasons give the surface of the wood a unique patina.

Hamari's sculptures are images created by the subconscious and filtered through dreams. Branches of trees grow through the creatures, or their mouths are open, as if repeating a low-voiced mantra and breathing quietly. They are simultaneously below and above the surface of the water. Some of the sculptures resemble apocalyptic figures telling a dark story or depict a frozen moment of some unexpected event.

In the exhibition hall, human and animal figures stand in a circle. The high ceilings give the life-size sculptures room to grow, live and breathe. During the exhibition, the sculptures will change location, spread their wings and limbs and gather close together. Just as nature retreats under a thick blanket of snow during the cold and dark days of winter, the figures also come together to fall into a shared sleep.

Mia Hamari (born 1976) is a sculptor who lives and works in the village of Simonkylä in Simo. She graduated from the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts in 2004. She has held numerous solo exhibitions throughout Finland and participated in several group exhibitions in Finland and abroad. Her works are featured in many major art collections in Finland, and she has received several art awards.

The exhibition has received support from the Finnish Heritage Agency and Arts Promotion Centre Finland.