Why boys don’t play with dolls?
From the series Playing Belfast by Harri Pälviranta
Kiasma’s exhibition (Un)naturally explores and illustrates the diversity of gender.
Since an early age, boys and girls learn to have gender roles. Games and toys are differentiated in the scene on the playground; girls playing with girls while boys are romping with boys.
In the adult world, suddenly rules change when preferring the same gender partner to share life is considered unnatural, therefore discriminated by society. Despite the fact that in some job markets the gender differences may appear as natural on a basis of evolution or genes, the curators agree that something is still wrong if genders are continuously juxtaposed even in the third millennium.
When is it natural to prefer the same gender and when is it not? Who sets the rules? What determines the scent of a man? Thoughts on these questions, on what is natural and what is unnatural come to the viewer through the works of nine artists including ink on paper, watercolor, pencil on paper, chromogenic colour print, digital colour print, silisec mounting and oil on canvas.
An interesting series of drawings (ink on paper) entitled Fall of Man, includes male personalities in history telling stories of men defending gay rights, men stubbed to death for being gay, or showing the countries where homosexuality is a reason for death penalty.
(Un)naturally
on display
until 30 August.
www.kiasma.fi
Susan Fourtané – HT
Harri Pälviranta – Image
