27 April – 14 May, Kallio Kunsthalle

Artworks executed in the vanitas style were meant to remind viewers of the transience of life, the futility of pleasure, and the certainty of death. In Crystal Day, rotten fruits become Cyrus Tang’swork medium as they reflect an increased obsession with death and decay, and the overlapping motif of memento mori.

The idea of growing crystal from fruits functions as a strategy to freeze the residue of everyday memory, like embalming a dead body. To grow crystal on the surface of fruits functions more or less as a way to preserve the residue of everyday life.

The exhibition consists of a mixed media installation of strawberries covered by crystal shell. Eventually the berries become rotten and create a visual and olfactory experience to the viewer.

HIAP artist-in-residence Cyrus Tang (b. 1969) was born in Hong Kong, but is based in Australia. Her art practice reflects the sentiment of nostalgia through translation of disappearance into remembrance and fantasy. It reflects her examination of the paradox of reconstructing ephemeral mental images and sensations in permanent materials. During her residency at HIAP Tang continues to work with the subject of ephemerality. She explores the traces that raise the value of existence in various appearances and forms.

The artist will be present at the gallery every Thursday and Saturday, 5-7 pm.

Crystal Day is organised by HIAP – Helsinki International Artist Programme in cooperation with Kallio Kunsthalle.