Lovers in Today's Wars

Vapaan Taiteen Tila, 12.-18.7.2025

Co-created with Anni Alanen

The Lovers in Today's Wars is an installation that brings together love stories from today's war zones – Ukraine, Russia, Palestine, Israel, Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Myanmar and other areas affected by conflict in the past 3–5 years. The piece consists of collected news articles and real stories of lovers, compiled into a self-published newspaper. A large pile of these newspapers will be printed and placed in the exhibition space, freely available for visitors to take home — a fragment of emotional and historical testimony.

Surrounding this stack is a mound of pale powder composed of ceramic-grade bone ash, crushed lime from ruins, and wheat flour. Together, these materials form a symbolic memorial — inviting reflection on both personal and collective loss. Love, in this context, becomes a consuming force that leaves behind not only ashes, but traces of the structures and rituals it once inhabited.

Part of ALL THE WORLD LOVES A LOVER, a group exhibition by Penthouse