Escapism by Taedong Lee and Eetu Sihvonen Instalation view
Escapism is the process of stepping outside the ordinary to confront what lies within—emotion, memory, desire, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.
Escapism brings together the work of Taedong Lee and Eetu Sihvonen in a contemplative exploration of inner worlds shaped by memory, emotion, and symbolic imagination. Through two distinct yet resonant practices—Lee’s atmospheric paintings and Sihvonen’s allegorical sculptures—the exhibition offers viewers a space to reflect, retreat, and reimagine.
Taedong Lee creates landscapes that emerge from sensory and emotional memory. Starting with on-site sketches, videos, and reflections, Lee reconstructs these moments into what he calls “phantom places”—spaces that feel personal yet suspended in time. These evocative environments reveal a layered interplay between past and present, sensation and recollection, inviting the viewer to enter a world shaped not by physical geography, but by emotional resonance.
Eetu Sihvonen’s sculptural works delve into symbolic storytelling. Drawing from medieval iconography—particularly Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s The Land of Cockaigne—Sihvonen constructs wood and resin objects that resemble mystical relics. His recurring motif of the two-legged egg acts as a humorous yet unsettling metaphor for human desire, vulnerability, and transformation. These figures, both surreal and grounded, invite interpretation while resisting closure.
Together, the artists present different routes into the idea of escapism: one rooted in introspective memory, the other in mythical symbolism. The result is an exhibition that encourages viewers to momentarily step away from reality and enter a space where imagination, history, and emotional truth converge.
