Emma Ainala: Delulufesting Dimension

Emma Ainala presents her latest paintings in her fourth solo exhibition at Helsinki Contemporary, Delulufesting Dimension, which embarks on a freshly nuanced and deepening exploration of her signature themes: femininity and the gaze.

Ambiguous figures in flamboyant interiors are recurring tropes in Ainala’s richly detailed paintings. While their content invokes the short-lived fads of the digital era, their exquisite, painstaking execution is time-consuming and meticulously planned. Her work also alludes frequently to art history. Sometimes she might combine allusions to the mystical worlds of the Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch with references to hyper-specific TikTok trends in one and the same painting.

The term “delulufesting” is the artist’s own portmanteau word of the internet slang terms “delulu” and “manifesting”, both of which refer to the blurring of boundaries between reality and fantasy. “Delulu'' is a term describing the delusional belief that one can influence one’s destiny through sheer willpower. “Manifesting” meanwhile describes the practice of willing something into existence purely by thinking aspirational thoughts – by focusing your thoughts on a desired outcome as if it were already true, you can supposedly make dreams come true in real life as well.

Helsinki Contemporary

24.5.-30.6.2024

Free entry