Second meeting is always a bit tricky, last time was so spontaneous and easy, now there’s all these expectations and I’m not so good with social responsibility Joakim Ojanen

Joakim Ojanen explores the question of what it actually means to be human in our time in his solo exhibition Second meeting is always a bit tricky, last time was so spontaneous and easy, now there’s all these expectations and I’m not so good with social responsibility at Ruttkowski;68 in Paris.

In his search for the current state of the human condition Joakim Ojanen is following in great philosophical and psychological footsteps; countless intelligent minds from Freud toBarthes to Arendt have already grappled with the conditions of our human existence. Born in 1985 in Västerås, Sweden, his artistic exploration of this subject is as emotional as it is subjective, and touches the viewer on this level, too. All created over the last six months, the initially animal-like characters in his ceramic and bronze sculptures and his charcoal drawings not only have human features, but also reflect profoundly human sentiments. In their childlike and naive elaboration, they seem amusing at first, before subtle disruptive factors fracture the scenes.

How are hierarchies formed, and what determines an individual’s position, whether higher or lower? Why do we strive to be part of a society, even though we feel alienated from it? In his works, the artist, who studied at the Konstfack University College of Arts, Crafts and Design, seeks a means of expression for his own feelings and thoughts, which are difficult to put into words. Despite—or precisely because of—their individual intimacy, they possess an impressive kind of universal validity.

• Request available artworks