Helena Lehtinen, coup de soleil sur le bijou …. et pourtant son site s’appelle « hibernate » …. la Finlande et ses « froidures » ?
« My works are about memories from my family, my past; fragments, objects, photos without a camera. Identity is not stabile but in constant movement and change. I’m in between minimalism and kitsch; I hate and love both of them.«
Helena Lehtinen – Lingam exhibition
Helena Lehtinen – Brooch – wood, textile, silver, porcelain, 2008
Helena Lehtinen – Brooch – 1.wood, textile, silver, fimo, optical glass, hematite, 2008
« How to define the work of Helena Lehtinen? I would say that she works like a poet, making poems word by word, verse by verse, each poem forms part of a whole, close to life, close to fiction. Each jewellery object is meticulously made, whatsoever the material, is made with time like the words of a poem. All has to be just in the right place to express the right thing. She works carefully each object with the chosen materials that evoke memories, time and space.
These tiny sculptures, in another words, poems of jewellery, talk about memories of something left behind, but not to yearn for, but to make us aware of the space between these two worlds, the one we live in, the one we left behind. She weaves a bridge with the artworks that invites us to walk in and to get into a state of mind. It will make our approach much easier. Like the smell of a rose reminds us that a rose bush is somewhere even we do not see yet any, or when we hear a voice in the darkness, we recognise that behind that sound is a human voice, a person. Can we carry her art objects? Is there any functionality in them? If we talk about art pieces, functionality is not the first thing to be thought about, because there are other values much relevant to be considered. The strength of Lehtinen’s art (jewellery) lies just in the transcription of a jewellery language into a conceptual aspect, therefore, her artworks need to be displayed somewhere to have viewers.
Why not to use the human body walking in the crowds, spreading the art message to by-passers like poems written on underground walls. Art belongs to the people, has been said. We should not be afraid of it. We can surely carry an object in our clothes and let by-passers approach us to look at it. The viewer is searching and experimenting through materials, form and colour. The concept of the creator is there, like the smell and the rose, they are altogether part of the story. After all, between fiction and reality, Helena Lehtinen creates room for the mind.
Helena, what is the routine of one of your days?
I usually start in the morning going to my studio and watching the works that I have in process. I also work with ready-made objects, so going around flea markets searching for objects and its hidden history is part of my artistic work. It is very important for me to see in the morning what I left behind last. It is reading and reading again these objects and their memories once more. It helps me in the process of understanding things.
Who o which work has caused great influence in you?
I must say that it was a piece of jewellery by Prof. Otto Künzli “Gold makes you blind” that I saw in 1980 in Pforzheim, Germany. The gold was hidden inside the piece. It was something that made me think profoundly and I think this experience opened my mind and visions on contemporary jewellery. There was so much in it and it was remarkable for my artistic career. Later on in 1997 I met Rudt Peters and his philosophical approaches in art making were significant for me.
What role material plays in your work?
I would say that every material has its own history and I try to work with it, especially is very important when I work with found objects, because each piece is impregnated with history.
In what projects are you involved just now at the moment?
A theme I work now is landscapes, inner landscapes, it sounds deep, but I love things that are not superfluous. Artist’s life is to show what one does. I participate in several exhibitions around the world. Now I’m working for group exhibitions in Ornamentum and Marzee galleries and also there something coming in Idar-Oberstein » (Antonio Altarriba -Design co-ordinator Arts Council of Southeast Finland – Baltic Jewellery News)
Helena Lehtinen – Brooch – wood, textile, silver, agate, 2008.
oooops … la météo change, le « ciel » s’est noircit ………….. 
Tarja Tuupanen From the serie Crafts & Tradition ready-made marble tableware photo: Lassi Rinn
Tarja Tuupanen Necklace from 2014 – marble table ware, steelwire, veloursticker, brass.
Eija Mustonen – Apron and mittens, 2014, nickel silver. Photo Jesse Pylsy
Eija Mustonen - mittens, 2014, copper, nickel silver. Photo Jesse Pylsy
Helena Lehtinen – pendants 2014 Photo Lassi Rinno
