A joint exhibition project between Komplot, a curatorial collective based in Brussels, and Finnish curator Aura Seikkula, SIC and HIAP, will take place 19.8.– 9.11.2013. Initiated by the Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux, Kopioitu invites four Brussels- and eight Helsinki-based artists to challenge the concept of original.

The project’s concept, two mirroring exhibitions in two cities, was created as a result of the Belgian curators’ visit to Helsinki in September 2012. Inspired by the film Copie conforme (2010), the name of the project molded into Kopioitu (‘Copied’). Participating artists are Olli Keränen, Karri Kuoppala, Maija Luutonen, Kalle Leino, Konsta Ojala, Sauli Sirviö, Timo Vaittinen and Laura Wesamaa from the Finnish SIC-collective, and the Brussels-based Félicia Atkinson, Jurgen Ots, Bitsy Knox and Benoit Platéus.

During Kopioitu, twelve chosen artists will create two copies of the same artworks in Helsinki and in Brussels. The artworks can be created using any medium, they can be original or reproduced, handmade or mechanical, conceptual or pictorial. The focal point is to address the question of originality, and hence tackle the boundaries of the uniqueness of creative processes.

The project consists of two residency periods and two exhibitions, both with their own opening and closing nights, and a single publication. From August 19 on, the artists will work at the artist residency of HIAP in Helsinki for a week’s time. Their stay in Helsinki will finish with an opening at SIC on August 23. Only nine days afterwards, the artists will work in Brussels and create another exhibition for Komplot, to be opened on 6 September.  Both shows will run in parallel for approximately two months, creating a mirroring situation between the two European capitals. The exhibitions will be accompanied by a publication, which will not only introduce the artists and their works, but also provide a deeper look into the concept of the project: art’s relation to time and place and its levels of originality.

Finnish Cultural Institute for the Benelux initiated and supports Kopioitu. Other partners are Komplot, SIC and HIAP. The project is supported by Finnish Embassy of Belgium and Belgian Embassy of Finland.