Levels
January 18-February 9, 2025
Riikka Hyvönen, Erwin Laiho & Jani Leinonen
Text by Dr. Aura Seikkula
Several fields of inquiry structure their models for understanding human behavior, systems, or phenomena across multiple levels. Jurgen Habermas argues that modern societies risk colonization of the lifeworld when systemic forces like markets or bureaucracy overshadow rationality of communication. An advocate for democratic ideals, Habermas emphasizes communicative action as a means to reconcile our lifeworld with societal complexities. At Zetterberg Gallery, artists Riikka Hyvönen, Erwin Laiho, and Jani Leinonen critically explore the colonization of various contemporary lifeworlds through their core practices.
The communicative advocacy Habermas calls for is vividly expressed in Jani Leinonen’s text-based works, which often pose direct ethical questions or critiques, such as exposing the disparity between corporate altruism and exploitative practices. These textual elements act as calls to action, harnessing the persuasive power of language to expose its influence in shaping perceptions and upholding power structures, while encouraging viewers to reflect on their values and reconsider their actions.
Leinonen’s alterations reveal the persuasive techniques embedded in advertising and corporate communication, laying bare their manipulative potential. Leinonen engages viewers using direct pronouns in a style reminiscent of Barbara Kruger. Through “I,” “You,” and “We,” he employs provocative slogans and recontextualized corporate taglines to expose the hypocrisies and contradictions within systems of power. By combining blunt text with bold visuals, such as logotypes, Leinonen heightens the impact of his critique through stark and striking contrasts.
I am drawn to Barbara Kruger’s definition of her work as one that “joins the seductions of wishful thinking with the criticality of knowing better.” Similarly, Leinonen carves out a distinctive space with his playful yet incisive critique of morality and commodification. Through humor and irony, he tempers the intensity of his messages while maintaining accessibility, encouraging reflection on societal norms, corporate altruism, and institutional complicity in perpetuating inequality.
With her #Boom! #Pow! #Zap! Well, This is One Hell of a Derby Kiss Riikka Hyvönen looks into another lifeworld by transforming the bruises – kisses – of roller derby athletes into bold celebrations of resilience and empowerment. Through hyperrealistic painting, sculpture, and pop-art-inspired installations, she reframes these marks—often seen as imperfections—into emblems of strength, camaraderie, and individuality. Hyvönen’s use of materials like leather and glitter gives the bruises a glamorous, three-dimensional quality, blending humor and critical commentary. Her works challenge conventional beauty standards, reclaiming stigmatized parts of the body as symbols of pride and power.
By spotlighting the physicality and defiance of roller derby culture, Hyvönen addresses societal discomfort with women’s strength and violence, reframing it as empowerment. The monumental scale of her pieces mirrors the unapologetic spirit of her subjects, bridging the art world and subcultural sports while celebrating community, identity, and lived experience. Her work bridges subcultural practices with broader societal narratives, encouraging viewers to engage critically with issues of gender, power, and identity, thus fostering communicative action within the lifeworld.
Erwin Laiho’s Not Enough Disk Space (Astro Laser) is a sculptural element combining a diamond cutting wheel, a modified 24” iMac, and laser-engraved glass to explore the fragility and new materiality of digital technology highlighting the consequences of e-waste, carbon emissions, and ethical concerns around resource extraction, as well as its embeddedness in global systems of production and consumption.
Through its materials and layered symbolism, Laiho critiques obsolescence and the hidden costs of digital culture. By transforming a functional object into a reflective artifact, Laiho invites viewers to reconsider the impermanence and consequences of our reliance on technology. The modified iMac juxtaposes sleek consumer tech with its inherent limitations, while the engraved glass adds a tactile, handmade element that contrasts with the mass-produced nature of the object. The diamond cutting wheel draws attention to the intersection of creation and destruction, emphasizing the physical impermanence of seemingly enduring digital devices.
Here the title Not Enough Disk Space references a common digital error, encapsulating anxieties around data storage and technological obsolescence. Astro Laser evokes futuristic ambition, contrasting humanity’s cosmic aspirations with the mundane constraints of technology. This obsolescence reflects the ongoing colonization of the lifeworld, where constant innovation enforces cycles of consumption, transforming cultural practices, commodification of technology and human interactions into functions of economic systems.
