The Blue Hour of Dust

2022

photography, video, sound, installation

In October 2020, a small dust particle stole my attention. I was photographing an empty table illuminated by a bluish light in a photo studio when that shining little dot lured me. I wonder what dust is? It is the remnants of the Big Bang, a reminder of the history and a sign of the future. It may contain parts of an old mountain top, the fluff from the cheeks of the deceased, feathers of the extinct Delalande's coua. Dust accumulates everywhere and floats in the air all the time. I leave a sign of my presence in the form of dust.

The Blue Hour of Dust consists of photography, video, and sound. The focal point of the piece are the observations of the indexicality and presence associated with photography. What kind of trace is left in the photo of the present? Both the creation of a photograph and the accumulation of dust are unrepeatable moments. Retaining this idea, nothing is ever the same, because everything is marked by a unique layer of dust. The light that falls on the cell of a camera is likened to a dust layer that leaves one of a kind mark of a moment in time. I place the dust on the podium as a tribute to the cycle of life and the existence of different materials.

Western modern thinking emphasizes a human-centered dualistic view in which material is seen as a passive and immobile object and human as a living actor, a subject. It is comforting to think that my life is no more special than the existence of any other material. The large scales in outer space make me feel like such a small particle, that the worries of my own life lose their meaning.

The production of the work has been supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Art Centrum Maltinranta, 2022

Art Centrum Maltinranta, 2022

Art Centrum Maltinranta, 2022

Art Centrum Maltinranta, 2022