Hum consists of 15 landscapes that Mäkelä shot in his hometown Orimattila, located an hour away from Helsinki, Finland. By generating random locations and shooting directions, Mäkelä avoided choosing places that have meaning for him. He decided on a three kilometer radius from the centre of Orimattila in order to keep the area manageable on foot.
The title refers to the continuous humming of engines and machinery that takes over the landscape. It also refers to Mäkelä’s way of humming nervously when he’s in remote or private areas. The subtitles reflect his thoughts during the process. As well as a small town study, Hum is Mäkelä’s examination of himself and his roots and an attempt to lessen subjectivity in his way of working.
The work was originally shown as a looping video installation at the POST-TILA exhibition held in an abandoned dairy plant in Lahti, Finland in 2019.
Rasmus Mäkelä (born 1991 in Orimattila, Finland) is a Helsinki based visual artist dealing with themes such as change, ephemerality, light and the human experience. By combining sculptural installations and sound he also examines the concepts of time and space. Mäkelä’s aim is to turn personal experiences into visual works that simply bring out emotions in the viewer.
Mäkelä graduated as a Master of Arts in Photography from the Aalto University school of Arts, Design and Architecture in 2021. He has taken part in various group exhibitions and screenings in Finland, Sweden and Latvia. His first solo gallery exhibitions are scheduled for spring 2022.
