Arttu Nieminen

I am a media artist based in Rovaniemi, Finland (born in 1981), and my works often revolve around symmetry. I play with horizons, explore the fragile Arctic nature, and juxtapose omens and visions with current phenomena. Flowing nature imagery, poetic recitations, minimalist music, and disruptive montages form the cornerstones of my expression. By stringing together scenes loaded with ASMR (Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response), I craft audiovisual incantations with the intention of instilling transformative power. While I strive for a purifying artistic experience, I am working on a kind of propaganda film.

Nature, along with colossal structures built by humans and the pulse of the city, appears to me as conscious entities. They sometimes act as a mysterious interface between the visible and the invisible. Isolation, mystery, and flow are qualities that my works bring forth. They serve as delirious odes to nature's mystical features and tempting invitations to venture into the forest with new eyes.

My video art can be found in museums, galleries, cinemas, as well as installations and façade projections at events. I engage in artistic collaborations at events and festivals, combining media art with performances, choreography, poetry, and music.

Environmental issues and humanity's conflicted relationship with nature are recurring themes in my works. I also reflect on humanity's level of consciousness and the choices we have at every moment to sensitize our inner selves. We stand at the crossroads of our path, reaching for a higher state of awareness as a species.

Though it often feels like individuals have no significance in the grand scheme of things, we are still part of a larger consensus, a neural network where every individual resonates with their own vibration and potential, electrifying this mycelium of collective consciousness. Perhaps that is why I aim to address the viewer with my works as if they were on an intense trip. Within the short duration of my pieces, I seek to impart a leveraged force that each person can interpret in their own way, based on their values. Ideally, my works leave something simmering in the heart of the beholder.

The images and footage I work with often draw inspiration from aesthetics and styles not only found in nature but also from my psychedelic journeys. During these journeys, consciousness seems to breathe and awaken into new realities. I dive into new mental landscapes, experience wonder, contemplate life, and encounter the sacred, beautiful presence of oneself and the universe. I let the universe resonate within me, allowing my selfhood to dissolve into it.

Keep it cool
Arttu Nieminen
Arttu.org