Finnish Pavilion at 56th Venice Biennale

IC-98

Curator: Taru Elfving

IC-98 is artists Visa Suonpää (b. 1968) and Patrik Söderlund (b. 1974).

The group, started in 1998 and originally called ‘Iconoclast,’ was selected by curator Taru Elfving

IC-98 projects often take the form of installations or publications, combining research, drawing and animation. Their intensely abstracted, identifiable visual language weaves myriad bridges between the material and mythical, individual and collective, nature and culture. The investigations running through the works concern the body politic, social formations and architectural constructions, heresies and pure systems of thought, and the presence of history in everyday life.

“IC-98 has an extensive catalogue of ambitious projects to date and a committed critical practice engaged with international debates and urgencies. My curatorial aim is to offer the artists an opportunity to produce a new, site-specific work for the Biennale. The philosophical and political themes at the core of the works of IC-98 resonate profoundly against the rich context of Venice.” Taru Elfving, curator of the exhibition.

Image: IC-98: A View from the Other Side, 2011. HD-animation. Courtesy Frame Visual Art Finland.