Experience Alexander Reichstein’s light art installation at the city museum
The immersive light art exhibition is based on artist Alexander Reichstein’s fascination with history and the destinies of past generations. The luminous installation invites visitors on a journey through time within a photo album. The artworks will be on display from March 15 to April 7, 2024.
Starting March 15, the exhibition space on the fourth floor of the Helsinki City Museum transforms into an enlarged, light-glowing photo album. Moscow-born artist Alexander Reichstein (b. 1957) presents light art pieces where the edges and figures of old photographs are traced with thin lines.
The installation An unknown family album consists of large image re-productions that float in the space without a base. The artworks encourage visitors to reminisce about their own past relatives.
The artworks are based on the artist’s exploration of his own family photo album. “Each of us has the experience of flipping through an old photo album. When looking at old photos, we travel back in time. Many people in the photos are unknown, the circumstances of the shots mysterious, and the dates unclear. The figures in old pictures also gaze back at us and try to tell us something,” explains Reichstein.
The installation is accompanied by a soundscape created by Petri Laakso, combining Max Richter’s music piece Sleep with a murmur composed of different languages and the whispers, talk and songs of men, women and children.
Alexander Reichstein (born 1957) is a Moscow-born artist who has been living in Helsinki since 1990, making art for and with children. His body of work includes children’s book illustrations, paintings, and sculptures, and his installations have been displayed in a wide range of institutions, ranging from daycare centers and libraries to art museums. Reichstein’s art has been showcased internationally, including in countries such as the United States and Japan. The book ‘Gondwanan lapset’, illustrated by the artist, received the Finlandia Junior Award in 1997. Reichstein was honored with the Finnish State Award in children’s culture in 2008.
Admission to the exhibition is free.
Photo: Alexander Reichstein