Finlandia Hymn

Emerging artist Anja Loughhead presents a series of documented performance pieces examining the photographic representation of Finland’s cultural identity and the deep-seated relationship to the landscape.

Finlandia Hymn is a new body of work comprising a series of documented performance pieces examining the photographic representation of Finland’s cultural identity and the deep-seated relationship to the landscape. Outdoor activities such as skiing, fishing and eating sausages are captured in a photographic studio in an attempt to maintain a personal connection to my cultural identity. Accompanied by an interpretation of Sibelius’ choral component of Finlandia Hymn this exhibition presents a tongue in cheek reflection on the role of photography and its global influence on our understanding of place and its people.

Anja Loughhead is an emerging multi-disciplinary artist based in Queanbeyan, NSW, working with photography, drawing, video and installation. A diverse artistic practice, Loughhead explores the public representation of nationhood and the implications these pose upon personal identity. Through the re-purposing of archive material and the manipulation of everyday items she reveals new narratives by combining imagery, material and text. As the grandchild of Finnish migrants Loughhead uses these methods to explore the construction of national identity by reflecting upon the self and the feeling of cultural diaspora which follows. Straddling a line between truth and fiction, and humour and trauma, her work locates the personal within the national.

Loughhead holds a Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) from the Australian National University School of Art & Design (ANU SOA&D), and is currently undertaking a Master of Art History and Curatorial Studies at the ANU SOA&D.