THE MARRIAGE (2015) – Vappu Rossi
Video, loop 12’13”, silent.
In a framed double portrait, spouses slowly turn into one another – and back. The change is gradual, almost imperceptible at first glance.
The work alludes to the ancient ´truth´ that, over time, spouses gradually begin to resemble each other. The couple, mutely staring past one another, is a laconic comment on marital bliss. Apart from the humorous level, the slowly changing picture also investigates issues of gender and companionship – most of the time the picture actually shows two hybrids – as well as the passage of time and mortality.
Vappu Rossi (b. 1976) is a visual artist who works also with graphic and media art. Her work focuses on portraying humanity both on the emotional and temporal scale while exploring issues of motion, embodiment as well as presence and absence. At home Rossi is best known for her drawings as well as spatial and multi-disciplinary applications of drawing. Her international reputation is based principally on media works whose quietly humorous, contemplative and coloristically ascetic style has won acclaim at festivals across the world. Rossi has an MA degree from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts and a BA from the University of Art and Design Helsinki. She lives and works in Helsinki.