Bio
Martin Dahlström-Heuser (b. 1979, Brazil) is a Helsinki-based visual artist currently pursuing a master’s degree in Visual Cultures, Curating and Contemporary Art at Aalto University. His mediums range from video to installations, painting and sculpture. He has studied fine arts with specialisation in digital media at the Valand School of Fine Arts, Gothenburg, Sweden (2009), and music composition at Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil (2004). Martin has exhibited in many countries, such as Sweden, Finland, Canada, Spain, Brazil and Uruguay. In Porto Alegre, Brazil, he participated in the group exhibition of the Second Alliance Française Contemporary Art Award (2018). He has works in the public collections of Museum of Art of Rio Grande do Sul (MARGS) and Museum of Contemporary Art of Rio Grande do Sul (MACRS), Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Artist Statement
Martin’s output is infused with a negative view of human beings and their organisations. His works often resemble human behaviour experiments in which obscenity, vulgarity and the language of the mass media are tools in an attempt to unveil hidden truths. His artistic language is replete with compulsive repetitions that ultimately discuss and impose subtle forms of violence. In his installations, the viewer’s role and position are often intentionally limited so as to turn viewers into unwilling participants. In more visually-oriented works, these approaches give way to nearly abstract and dark imagery.
Pee Lights
(2021)
Materials: Urine, plastic bags, plastic bottles, adhesive tape.
Notes: Plastic bags and bottles filled with urine were placed on light sources outside the Väre building, where Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture is located.
