Markus Copper – The Taste of Metal
Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki
11 November 2022 – 26 February 2023
Markus Copper
Juggernaut, 1992-95
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Archangel of Seven Seas, sketch, 1996
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
The visual artist MARKUS COPPER (1968–2019) is known for his sculptures that take over the surrounding space. The sounds, mechanical movements and lights reverberating in viewers’ bodies spark their attention. The retrospective at Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma showcases Markus Copper’s exceptional art and his worldview with a selection of work of unprecedented variety and depth. Diving into the culture of collective trauma and the human tragedies of our time, the exhibition comprises works that were completed between 1991 and 2018.
MARKUS COPPER: METAPHORS AND SENS OF DANGER
The Taste of Metal exhibition takes a deep dive into the collective trauma culture and human tragedies of our time. The largescale Estonia (2006) and Kursk (2004) capture the communal fear and anxiety induced by the sinking of the car ferry Estonia and the submarine Kursk. Whaling Station (2009), constructed from external ribs sown together out of leather jackets and a rowing boat, is in turn doomed to repeat a ritual portrayal of the flensing of a whale.
Kursk, drawing
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Hannu Karjalainen
Kursk, 2004
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Kursk, 2004
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Estonia, 2006
Finnish National Gallery / Kiasma
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Whaling Station, 2009
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
“Markus Copper wanted his dramatic sculptures to highlight the forces that govern life, the constant tension between destruction and creativity, the fact that art can explore the darkest aspects of life and society on a symbolic level. The sense of threat in his works evokes turning points, the fragility of life, fractures and transience. The power of the works lies in their ability to open themselves up, through the mythical figures that the artist has created, to the sore points of our own time. They create room to think and to experience the meaning dimensions of human existence,” says Leevi Haapala.
Especially in the early stages of his career, Markus Copper sought to impart a sense of threat to his work, and some of his early pieces even involved a dimension of actual danger. A case in point is Sixpack of Instant Death (1995), which consisted of six sculptural objects that Markus Copper gave to his friends. The objects were designed to explode when linked together. In 2020, the police tracked down the work’s missing components, which have since been rendered harmless.
Sixpack of Instant Death, 1995
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
MARKUS COPPER: ICONIC PIECES AND UNKNOWN WORKS
The exhibition also includes Markus Copper’s best-known work, a whale sculpture entitled Archangel of Seven Seas (1998). Part of the Kiasma collection today, the iconic piece is one of the museum’s most cherished artworks. A key component of the work is a set of organ pipes from the church of Kotka that play a low, rumbling “whale song”.
Archangel of Seven Seas, 1998
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Archangel of Seven Seas, 1998
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Archangel of Seven Seas, 1998
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Many of Markus Copper’s works have been dismantled or lost. They are presented in the exhibition in the form of drawings, sketches and documentary material. With the help of the artist’s family and friends, Kiasma has succeeded in recovering and partly conserving several works, including the sculptures Whaling Station (2009), South Pacific Execution (2007) and The Khyber Pass (2014). These are all now accessioned to the collection of the Finnish National Gallery.
Iron Maiden, Bourgeois Door, 2006
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Khyber Pass, 2014
Photo: Finnish National Gallery / Petri Virtanen
Markus Copper was also a prolific and skilful draughtsman. The show includes several of his drawings from various museum collections, including his last suite, Roadside Picnic (2018), which is part of the Kiasma collection. Also included in the show are rarely screened video documentaries about the artist from the 1990s.
The exhibition is curated by museum director Leevi Haapala and curator Jari-Pekka Vanhala from Kiasma. The exhibition is accompanied by the publication of a lavishly illustrated book on Markus Copper’s art, produced in collaboration with Parvs Publishing Company. The book offers fresh perspectives on the artist’s work by several authors.
