Staying at Plasy in summer 1995 was a great experience. The big buildings of the monastery appeared to me in the beginning like an outsized dinosaurus in the small town. Endless big rooms, surprising nooks and crannies.

I remember drawing continuously during my stay. Therefore my installation Mobile Territories was also very much like a drawing. One part of the installation was structure in the shape of stairs: a drawing welded of thin steel bars. The second part of the installation was a contrast to the airy structure: three heavy bundles made of cloth and objects, tied together with rope. A blade of a knife stuck out of one of the bundles. The third part of the installation was a stair-shaped form which I filled with horse tailhair, a material which I used a lot in my works at that time. For me, horse tailhair embodied the energy of an animal; something raw and untamable, in contrast to the man-made orderliness of buildings.

materials: steel bars, textile, rope, horse tailhair

Kaisu Koivisto, Helsinky, 2017

Kaisu Koivisto (1962) studied at the University of Art and Design Helsinki (MFA). She also studied art history and aesthetics at the University of Helsinki. She lives in Helsinki, Finland. In her work, Koivisto incorporates different media and materials such as salvaged leather and fur as well as steel. Installations, photography, drawing and video are integral aspects of her artistic practice.

Koivisto’s topics are often closely knitted with the materials she employs: waste materials produced by a society of excess. Regardless of the topic or medium of the work, an undercurrent of uncertainties tinges her works. Intriguing, beautiful materials and images have a seductive aesthetic. It attracts the spectator, who gradually perceives other meanings - the dark side of stories - than one can see at first glance.

Kaisu Koivisto´s work have been shown for instance in the following institutions: Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen, Rome; Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki; Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid; PS 1, New York; Kumu Art Museum, Tallinn, Estonia; Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, Galleria Sculptor, Helsinki; Pori Art Museum, Pori.