Mika Mäkiranta is a 54-year-old self-taught visual artist from Tampere. In addition to creating images, he writes poetry, prose, and lyrics. “The need to create is coded into my DNA. In that sense, I am lucky. The world is a fascinating place. I always find myself facing the new, like a monkey with a wrench,” he says. Mäkiranta has previously held exhibitions at S-Gallery (1999), Torni Hotel’s Ateljee Bar (2000) and Tampere Hall’s Winter Garden (2024).
The works exhibited at the festival are photographic prints, created in 2024 using a camera and Snapseed application. They depict urban dreams and visions. The exhibition series consists of four pieces titled The Hole, The Bridge, The Dawn, and Self-Portrait.
Curators’ comments: “Mäkiranta’s mythical, dystopian photographs of a monkey and eerie voids make one question what in the image is real and what is not.”
