Daniel Malpica: Kaamos was an exhibition that showcased a self-curated installation of Malpica’s works and his embracement of darkness, ranging from the realms of motion poetry to altered film.
The exhibition took place at the main gallery of the Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP) which is known as Finland’s premier art platform due to its extensive global network and valued reputation.
“In my own work, whether it’s a text, a digital installation, or a performance, the distance between literature, design, and other media has never had very distinctive borders. Everything seems to me as a unified part of an expanded poem” Malpica reflects. This holistic approach has characterized his career, which weaves diverse strands across Europe, Mexico, and beyond.
The word Kaamos refers to the darkest times of the year. A season that alters the behaviours and physiology of almost every living thing. It also carries a cultural significance in Finland for its strong influence over the human psyche and, at times, its power to make oneself feel depleted.
The word Kaamos refers to the darkest times of the year. A season that alters the behaviours and physiology of almost every living thing. It also carries a cultural significance in Finland for its strong influence over the human psyche and, at times, its power to make oneself feel depleted.
The exhibition was a probe into the darkness of light, the bureaucratic nightmares of immigration and the poetics of fire. Visitors encountered a multimedia installation that revealed Malpica’s process and his approach to the transmediality of writing.
Launching at the unsettling milieu of both Helsinki and Mexico City’s poetry and art scenes, Malpica has emerged as a transatlantic author in the literature and multimedia domains while exploring the intersections of language, graphic design, and digital expression.
“Contrary to popular belief in other regions of the planet” he has said, “we are not essentially the same throughout the year, and the morphology of darkness proves it.”
Dates: 18-31 May 2024
Location: HIAP Gallery Augusta, Suomenlinna, Finland
Location: HIAP Gallery Augusta, Suomenlinna, Finland
>1. Nomenclaturas del Fuego:
A piece inspired by the poems in the first chapter of Daniel Malpica's book Se escribe con X (Written with X) related to the principles of Gaston Bachelard's Poetics of fire / Literary translation by Eva Malpica Mihti / Voice by Daniel and Eva Malpica
>2. Reform (Watermelon, Blood, and Bullet Casings) - a statement on genocide:
''Fire from you and within you,
through the fires of hunger in various places,
the watermelon and its semantics, like the color of fire''
>2. Reform (Watermelon, Blood, and Bullet Casings) - a statement on genocide:
''Fire from you and within you,
through the fires of hunger in various places,
the watermelon and its semantics, like the color of fire''
>3. Päätös - Malpica vs Migri:
The expulsion of the poets. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, 2017. An audiovisual piece that explores Malpica's own deportation process / Sound works by Pedro MacLoughlin
The expulsion of the poets. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, 2017. An audiovisual piece that explores Malpica's own deportation process / Sound works by Pedro MacLoughlin
>4. Landscapes - Two moments in time:
1) The untamed winds facing the cliffs of Suomenlinna / ''Stone birds to make a fort fly'' inspired by Octavio Paz's The Monkey Grammarian / Voice by Daniel Malpica
2) Mexico City metro and its rivers of anxiety
1) The untamed winds facing the cliffs of Suomenlinna / ''Stone birds to make a fort fly'' inspired by Octavio Paz's The Monkey Grammarian / Voice by Daniel Malpica
2) Mexico City metro and its rivers of anxiety
>5. Línea:
Aditional piece by Amado Peña (read more below)
Aditional piece by Amado Peña (read more below)
Línea (displayed above) was an unintended piece created by poet and translator Amado Peña after his performance using soil, flowers and ice during KAAMOS𝘛𝘖𝘜𝘒𝘖𝘒𝘜𝘜 event. The result was annexed to the exhibition by Malpica as a form of expanssion of darkness. Amado's piece focuses on the breaking of the ice as a rupture of the body, reality, and intelligence; where only visceral feelings such as sexuality, hunger and fear remain.
On Thursday 30.5. the KAAMOS was transformed into a maze of poetry, electronic music and moving graphics intended to explore the states and variations of darkness.
KAAMOS𝘛𝘖𝘜𝘒𝘖𝘒𝘜𝘜 was curated by Malpica himself:
KAAMOS𝘛𝘖𝘜𝘒𝘖𝘒𝘜𝘜 was curated by Malpica himself:
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AMADO PEÑA
JUAN DUARTE
NATHALIE SALLEGREN
WILD PERRA
JUAN DUARTE
NATHALIE SALLEGREN
WILD PERRA
Visuals: Daniel Malpica
Photos of the event by Eva Malpica Mihti
Photos of the event by Eva Malpica Mihti
VISIT
www.hiap.fi/event/daniel-malpica-kaamos/
The exhibition is organized by Helsinki International Artist Programme (HIAP) and Daniel Malpica, with sound works by Pedro MacLoughlin. Documentary and interview by Zimema and Hursti (Production assistance). With the support of the Kone Foundation and the Arts Promotion Center Finland. Daniel Malpica was a resident at HIAP in 2023.
