Laura Lappi Finland , b. 1979

"I explore the relationship between physical spaces, man-made structures, and the human mind – the psychogeography of places"

Lappi is interested in observing and examining how architecture and spatial environments influence our perceptions and affect reality; in particular, her focus is on the experience and emotional charge of different places and the fluid boundaries between reality and fiction. Her sculptural practice explores the relationship between physical spaces, man-made structures, and the human mind - the psychogeography of places.

 

The starting point of her work usually comes from a real, existing location, which she explores by researching its history and geography. Based on these places, she creates sculptures and site-specific installations, using photography and videography as a means to document them. In her recent works, she has been using charred wood. Dark, silky, and pitted surfaces unify simple geometric shapes. Irregular pentagons, triangles, trapezoids and circles intersect in ways that give structural integrity to the sculptures while creating a hypnotic visual rhythm. The charred material itself has an agency. The passage of time, loss and remembrance are encompassed within this blackened material that has been transformed through the act of burning.