ENG:

Svante Gullichsen: Behind my back

This exhibition is part of a long-running self-portrait project that began with Gullichsen translating his individual emotions and experiences into photographic artworks, gradually becoming the primary way to cope with his sometimes debilitating obsessive-compulsive disorder.

"Behind my back" is the third and, for the time being, the final series of images in Gullichsen's OCD trilogy on this subject. In this series, the artist retrospectively explores the process of mental health recovery, now that Gullichsen has been doing significantly better for about 1.5 years. In his dramatic pieces, he delves into deep waters, where death seemed like the only option, as well as the immense feelings of joy that arose when he realized he could manage on his own again.

Traveling and capturing moments during journeys have always been a significant part of Gullichsen's life. However, illness (and the global pandemic) completely altered the situation. Leaving his own home felt like an insurmountable obstacle, and he couldn't imagine traveling alone, especially abroad. However, in the spring of 2022, Gullichsen embarked on a month-long artist residency in Germany and found himself capable once again. "It felt like I had gotten my life back," Gullichsen summarizes. Many of the series' works were created during this residency period. Some pieces were created later in Norway, Estonia, and Finland.

Svante Gullichsen disrupts the everyday mundanity with his artwork and paints his inner landscapes for viewers to see. He aims to create compelling, intriguing, and even unnatural situations that pique the observer's curiosity: where is this place, how was this image taken, how does someone dare, and most importantly, what does this mean? Each piece has its own story and the rough situations in them are not meant for shock value alone; one may narrate the struggle to resurface, while another speaks to the power of peer support in addressing personal issues. The stunning natural settings serve as a stage and a natural continuum for materializing one's thoughts into images. In his work, Gullichsen also endeavors to highlight the role of humans as part of nature, an integral part, rather than as external observers. His works have previously been exhibited at various venues, including the Valokuvakeskus Nykyaika, Helsinki Photo Festival, and will be featured at Tallinn's Fotografiska in the spring of 2024.