Contemporary Design

Vessels for the voices of subconscious by Johannes Kaarakainen

The work is a series of sculptures, that give a physical form to a variety of pessimistic inner voices stemming from deep within the subconscious. The beings feed on the feelings of fear, insecurity, frustration, self-doubt and uncertainty. They speak through their synthesized voices, craving for attention and validation, constantly reminding of their existence.

a series of organic shaped sculptures with dark background

Works from left to right: The condescending judge who deems me as a failure, The poor thing capable of nothing but complaining, The one who knows I’m an impostor, The needy little shit who keeps flipping out for nothing & The sarcastic wise-ass who loves resorting to hindsight

Vessels for the voices of subconscious was born as a result of a deeply introspective process of making. While working with physical materials in a highly intuitive manner, I was constantly observing what kinds of negative feelings and emotions were present, and how they affected my creative process. The feelings seemed to come and go away as they pleased, like some kind of beings with minds of their own, some visiting me more often than others. This idea led me into portraying the abstract and intangible feelings as sort of living creatures, my very own lifelong personal companions and inner parasites.