In IC-98’s Nekropolis (2016), a whirlwind formed by dead souls rises towards the sky. Comprising Visa Suonpää (b. 1968) and Patrik Söderlund (b. 1974), who studied Cultural History at the University of Turku in the late 1990s and represented Finland at the 2015 Venice Biennale, the artist duo often addresses questions of temporality, human dominance, and its ramifications on other living beings in their dystopic works. Nekropolis draws inspiration from English writer and painter John Ruskin’s 1884 lecture series The Storm-Cloud of the Nineteenth Century, in which he discusses the alarming smog forming over London, induced by rapidly accelerating industrialisation. Markus Lepistö and Juan Duarte Regino animated the work, while the Pori-based band Sink created the music.
Emma Vuolaslempi 2024
Elfving, Taru and Patrik Söderlund, eds. IC-98: Hours, Years, Aeons: Moving Images and Other Projects 1998–2015. Helsinki: Frame Visual Art Finland, 2015.
“Nekropolis, 2016.” Climate Whirl, n.d. https://climatewhirl.fi/nekropolis.
Parkkinen, Pia. “Maailma loppuu ja pappi siunaa kuollutta lihaa – tältä näyttää tulevaisuus nykytaiteen silmin.” Yle, 7 May 2018. https://yle.fi/a/3-10181064.
Turunen, Joonas. “Kun ihmiskunta tuhoutuu, jäljelle jää Norjan huippuvuorille kätketty siemenholvi ja suomalaiskaksikon tekemä ryijy – IC-98 näyttää maailman, jossa ihmistä ei enää ole.” Helsingin Sanomat, 1 June 2018. https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000005702770.html.
