Jenni Yppärilä:
BRUTAL

Jenni Yppärilä’s exhibition Brutal examines the brutal structures of the world, society, and humanity. The works are based on the experience of not belonging and brutalist architecture, which Yppärilä studied during her residency in Paris in 2024.  

The original ideals of Brutalism were based on social justice and equality. However, their massive and raw exterior is combined with dystopian imagery, past social dreams and failed utopias. In the exhibition, Brutalism functions both as a concrete architectural reference and as a metaphor for environments and systems that shape an individual's experience of their own place in the world.  

The exhibition is based in particular on the Les Damiers brutalist residential complex, completed in 1976, located in the La Défense area of ​​the Paris business district. Les Damiers has been in the throes of a delayed new construction project for the past 15 years. The residential complex is to be replaced by Europe’s tallest pair of skyscrapers. 

However, this Russian-owned project has faced many obstacles, including tenant opposition, legal disputes, and reduced funding due to the war in Ukraine, as well as reputational damage. Half of the buildings in Les Damiers are now empty due to evictions of residents, and their condition is deteriorating. The graffiti-covered, partially abandoned buildings are a concrete example of the changes caused by gentrification to the urban environment and their effects on individuals and collective cultural memory.  

The works in the exhibition consist of both two- and three-dimensional paintings and a video work that depict broader social change and its effects on individuals. 

Jenni Yppärilä is a visual artist working in Helsinki, known for her three-dimensional paintings depicting buildings. Yppärilä’s interest in buildings is primarily sociological. The buildings reflect the past and present of the place, the changing values ​​of society and the social environment of the individual. Yppärilä's works are in the collections of Kiasma, Tampere Art Museum and Turku Art Museum, as well as public artworks in Pori, Tampere and Kangasala. 

The exhibition is supported by the Arts Promotion Centre of Finland.