[ 07:00-24:00 Everyday ]
30.08. – 19.09
I Was Happy Not To Be Alone
Anton Karyuk, 2024
14 mins
The video work is dedicated to probably the only remaining cruising spot for men with same-sex attraction in Helsinki. Against the backdrop of Finland’s unique nature, three intimate narratives told by young men in the 1960s-1970s, captured by Finnish researcher Waldemar Melanko (1939–2022), are heard. His book “Park Homos – a Report on Gay Culture in Helsinki in the 1960s” was published 40 years after its completion and became an exceptionally important work for the queer history of Finland.
Anton Karyuk (UA/LT) is a Ukrainian multidisciplinary artist based in Vilnius. In his practice, the artist explores marginalised segments of society, identities and the dynamics of social ecology. He began his professional career as an artist creating abstract paintings, later changing his focus to multidisciplinary media such as installation, performance and video art. In his visual narratives, Anton uses abstract artistic language and minimalist form, deftly manoeuvring between intimate and socially sensitive themes.
In celebration of Open Out festival, the festival team curated a film programme in collaboration with išgirsti, FEFF and SAQM. Together, they aim to establish a sense of community and awareness of queer existence across the vast Nordic regions through showcasing and debating underground short films, cinema works and cinema performances. Open Out ran from 7–14.09.24 at Tromsø Kunstforening, with the title ‘Practising Hope’.