Anatomy of Memory explores humanity and the emotional layers that often remain hidden beneath the surface. Based on old photographs, the dry pastel paintings create new spaces and narratives where past and present intertwine.

In this exhibition, Joonas Sirviö presents works created with dry pastels, focusing on people, their experiences, and reflections of his own emotions and inner landscapes.

Old photographs often serve as the starting point for Joonas’s works, sourced either from his personal collections or from the archives of the Finnish Heritage Agency. He reinterprets these images through painting, creating new spaces and situations that begin to tell entirely new stories within their transformed contexts.

Rather than portraying individuals as recognizable historical figures or depicting places and landscapes in a documentary manner, Joonas paints emotional states and experiences emerging from his inner world — often from unconscious layers of memory and feeling.

Recurring themes throughout his work include the complexity and multiplicity of emotions. The paintings of Joonas Sirviö are attempts to make visible that which often remains beyond words.

About the Artist

Joonas Sirviö is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice combines dry pastel, ink, pencil, and watercolor techniques. His work draws inspiration from nature and people — subjects that reflect emotions and human experiences, often through abstraction and symbolism. Through his art, he creates spaces that evoke feeling and invite the viewer’s mind to wander freely.

Drawing plays a central role in Joonas’s artistic process, with sketches often serving as the starting point for his works. He has studied art in Finland, Ireland, and Spain, and this international background has enriched and expanded his artistic expression.

Joonas Sirviö has exhibited extensively in both solo and group exhibitions in Finland, Ireland, and Spain. His works are included in private and public collections across these countries.

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Website: http://www.joonassirvio.com