2019, Galerie Forsblom, Helsinki, Finland
In Mood Construction, Leena Nio leads the viewer into an imaginary world of childhood flashbacks. Her dream-like oils feature recurring motifs such as wooden huts, abandoned houses, and barren landscapes, all woven together in a self-contained dream universe. Dredged from the depths of the artist’s subconscious, these insistently resurfacing motifs create a mood of haunting tension. Among the artist’s sources of inspiration is Stand By Me (1986), a coming-of-age film based on a novella by Stephen King. The movie recounts the adventures of a group of 12-year-old boys who are forced into a painful confrontation with adulthood.