Whether in connection with the sailing trips across the Southern Finnishrn archipelago or the nightly wanderings in the Swiss Alps which followed,rn the poetic and absurdist exploration of natural topographies, scale, rnand distance, and with this, the condition of human relationality and rnthe self as a terrain of both known and unknown environments, prevails rnas a theme in the works that have evolved since 2011. Investigating the rnvery idea of travel and navigation itself, the reassurance of secured rnroutes and fixed destinations is deliberately discarded by the rngroup—which prefers to consult Rebecca Solnit’s book A Field Guide to Getting Lost as its programmatic map and itinerary of escape into the wild.rn

Maanantai’s series Nine Nameless Mountains takes form as both the rndocumentation and experimentation of a venturing into the classic genre rnof the road trip. Next to the mountain as a visual leitmotif, further rnrecurring natural elements, such as waves, sand, and clouds, are rnincorporated. The series’ assembly of works reveals the intertwinement rnof many stories: the material used was passed on from one artist to the rnother and thus generated and interpreted collectively. Weaving together rnan eclectic array of literary references, different objects, and rnmultiple mediums and techniques, including analog photography, video rnstills, laser prints, drawings, and mobile phone shots, the works revealrn the traces of unforeseen incidents, random observations, and improvisedrn happenings.

rn

The new works exhibited delve further into the undertaking of rnabandoning the mundane and setting foot within the outlandish. Rather rnthan portraying the picturesque landscape in form of a single image, rnseemingly insignificant fragments are recorded. In between these rnsnippets and glimpses slumbers the potential emergence of a new and rnother, hitherto unbeheld view of the landscape. In reference to the rnexhibition title, the Collective states that "the dark moments between rnthe flashes were indeed a sign of the possibility to step into the rnunknown part of the familiar”. An artistic endeavor thus lies in testingrn and contesting the capacities and boundaries of the (interacting) rnself—be it fleshly or imagined, contained or collective. It is conceivedrn in all its constraints, resistances, and moments of dissociation, yet rnalso in its contingencies and expanses; to be touched, inversed, and at rntimes even dissolved in its interiority and exteriority. While the rnmetaphoric lighthouse at first aids us in orientating ourselves, the rnlonger the intervals between its flashes persist, the more accommodativern and intelligible does their darkness become, even to the extent that rnthe flashing beacon is perceived as an interference. What seemed to be rnknown may transform into the uncanny; and yet, at the same time, that rnwhat was estranging into something suddenly homely.

rn

– Shao-lan Hertel

rnrn

Maanantai Collective would like to thank Frame Visual Art Finland for their support.