MOMENTUM 5th Nordic Biennial for Nordic Contemporary Art / Text by Siv Hofsvang /2009

Hannaleena Heiska’s paintings are fantastic in every sense of the word. They offer an overwhelming encounter with a visual world like none other, despite hints of modern and primitive mythology, and of what could be described as a private mythology. / One often hears that Heiska’s work draws inspiration from the heavy-metal scene, for that is where one finds traits of a modern mythology. Her paintings are populated by half-human, half-animal creatures, and it is these beast-like elements that crop up also in the worlds of heavy-metal and Gothic music. They represent a spirituality and a link to something other-worldly that is often absent in our commercialized and highly industrial society. The parallels to popular culture are numerous; the creatures in Heiska’s pictures are often covered in tattoos, while Heiska herself has a background in graffiti culture.

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The tattooed figures in these pictures have parallels not just with contemporary interests in body decoration. Tattoos, which have been around since time immemorial, are symbolic of a authentic condition that defies historical dating. Both the timelessness of this visual world and its animal figures can be associated with an a-historical or primeval era. Although it remains open whether the motifs refer to a primitive mythology, due to the impossibility of attributing them directly to specific times or places, they do incorporate general narrative features from various cultural spheres. / Hannaleena Heiska also suggests a private mythology by using childhood memories in her range of motifs. Despite the privacy of this repertoire, it is not exclusive, in so far as the memories and moods of childhood contained in the paintings are generalized. This interplay of the familiar and the unfamiliar, the general and the private, is what gives the artist’s paintings their vitality. It is what draws me as a viewer into her pictures; I seek connections between the motifs, or explanations for their mysterious figures. 

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These paintings also involve us due to the correspondences between the figures they depict and the viewer’s own body. These creatures have a presence and an attitude one rarely encounters. This is due in large part to the strength of the compositions; there is an intimacy between the figures and the landscapes, whereby the various elements mutually enhance one another. Such linkages are apparent in the work of earlier artists, not least those of the symbolists, to whom Heiska is particularly indebted. Working at the turn of the 20th century, the symbolists can be viewed as reacting to the realists who preceded them; they wished to give visual form to the mystical and the occult. / As already mentioned, however, Heiska’s primary source of inspiration is the music scene, and especially the genres of heavy-metal and Gothic. In her view, these styles, now part of the mainstream, have encouraged greater acceptance of their respective visual aesthetics and an understanding of the symbols used first and foremost in the field of Gothic and Romantic art. She also points out that she portrays a particularly Nordic mentality that has affinities to this music scene.