"The Shell Cracked" - Exhibition by Bekim Hasaj and Valentina Gelain

The artists Bekim Hasaj and Valentina Gelain have long been exploring natural contexts, drawing inspiration and unfolding connections, to the point of probing one´s own immanence through them. Over the past few years, a deeper dialogue and exchange occurred between their research from two complementary perspectives: matter, physicality, and presence were encountering the liminal, the suspended, the impermanent.

Between conception, process, and interpretation, Hasaj and Gelain were seeking transposition through rocky entities found in sylvan settings: Hasaj in the exploration of these bodies and their crystallization into metallic surfaces, and Gelain by delving into symbologies and the transfiguration of the psyche.

This simultaneity not only prompted them to juxtapose the artworks once again, but also to create new pieces as a duo.

The exhibition cycle ‘The Shell Cracked’ features distinct works by the two artists, as well as their first collaborative pieces, in a constantly evolving multidisciplinary artistic corpus, and each iteration offers
fresh viewpoints and details. The duo show hosted at Studio Fremdeling is the eighth installment, and the body of work mainly presents video art, sculptural installations, textile and experimental poetry.

The topics probed focus on human inner apparatus and phenomena, seeking to stimulate perception and sensitivity through figuration, storytelling and expression with the lead~aid of scenery and natural elements, reminding the viewer of the coexistence and mutuality of which we are a part. The title hints at a looming change, perhaps one that has already occurred, of which we are not yet aware… subconscious alteration which cannot be reversed, only embraced.

The art production was supported by Etelä-Pohjanmaan Kulttuurirahasto, Arts Promotion Center Finland, Svenska Kulturfonden, Svensk-Österbottniska Samfundet.