FINNISH BROWN BEARS JUUSU AND TESSU COLLABORATE WITH TEA MÄKIPÄÄ...

An  exhibition of "How to be an Animal: Works in Progress"  by Finnish artist Tea Mäkipää includes an intriguing mix of photographs of Australian native animals, bear prints and a video installation showing artist bears in action. Visitors to the  Esperance Community Arts Gallery  at the Museum Park Village are definitely  in for a treat! 

The images of Australian native animals are from the artist's recent 8 week artist in residence program at the Cannery Art Centre which was  sponsored by Perth based International Art Space and DADAA Inc. The final outcomes of her Esperance residency will be exhibited both in Esperance and Perth in February 2015.

The video installation and bear prints document  Juuso and Tessu, two Finnish brown bears, venturing into the world of art making as they collaborate with artist Tea Mäkipää.   Their material investigations include painting (with non-toxic acrylic paint) and carefully dismantling a clay installation created by Tea Mäkipää.  

Some may be throwing their hands  in despair by now at the thought of "humanising" the mother bear and her cub. However, the artist might be  right and  there  is not enough "humanising" happening and as a result we humans cannot relate to other species all that well?  As a consequence we do not understand their needs or do not respect their rights to life, habitat and resources which would allow them to survive in the wilderness. The Finnish brown bear, for example,  is usually portrayed as a wild and dangerous creature. 

Tea Makipaa's collaboration must be seen in the context of her  passion for conservation of native animals anywhere. She constantly invents new ways to engage her audience with animal rights. Hence I am not surprised to find that there are only an estimated 900  - 1000 brown bears still living in the wild in Finnland. And, whilst the bear has the honour of being Finnland's national animal -  it is still being hunted!

Some humans kill for pleasure and disguised as a sport, bear hunting adverts can be found online.  The killing is  officially  sanctioned by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry who set the number of bear hunting permits at 132 last year. 

"However the Finnish Wildlife agency has issued additional permits in areas with dense bear populations or where the bruins cause the most damage. 

The Agency granted 45 additional hunting licenses to hunters in eastern Finland, while 36 extra permits were issued in central and southeast Finland. Hunters in southern and western Finland received 9 additional permits..." 

( http://yle.fi/uutiset/bears_in_the_cross_hairs__hunting_season_fires_up/6784842)

This means that almost a quarter of the bear population in Finland got culled in 2013! 

Mäkipää's  collaboration  with the mother and cub reveals some very endearing characteristics about bears. The Finnish brown bear is  an intelligent, curious, gentle, playful and cooperative creature when circumstances allow it - no different to (most)  humans!

The outcomes of Juuso's and Tessu's artistic endeavours are delightful and sophisticated works of art. With Mäkipää's assistance the bear painters create unique compositions on wooden panels which display a surprisingly large variety of marks  from bold to whimsical -   a credit to the animals' innate motor skills, intuition and playfulness with the materials. The bears' engagement with the installation reminds us of both the creative and destructive impulse in both animals and humans and how entwined those impulses are at times! 

Juuso and Tessu. have become worthy representatives of their species in our contemporary art world. Their works can be recognised as spontaneous acts of creation. This artistic collaboration between Tea Mäkipää and the bear artist duo draws attention to the mechanical intelligence and creative capacity of all species. Further, the need for conservation and respect for all native animals is highlighted by the artist and her bear collaborators.  

It is a real shame that the exhibition is only on display for 4 days and closes at 2 PM tomorrow afternoon (31. of January). I hope many Esperance people and visitors will go and  see the exhibition before it closes!


Monika Thomas



All Images are copyright Tea Mäkipää.