Camilla Vuorenmaa's exhibition explores folklore and modern witch hunts through gouged wood paintings

Finnish artist Camilla Vuorenmaa presented 13 paintings on wood at Helsinki Contemporary from January 11 to February 3, 2019. The works, created during a yearlong residency in Glasgow's Govanhill district, feature chiseled surfaces that reference myth, horror films, and current media trends. A series titled Witch 1, Witch 2, and Witch 3 (all 2018) depicts ghoulish figures in white with blue patterns from Scottish cemeteries, each measuring 160 x 60 cm. These serve as self-portraits and reinterpret the 'three wise monkeys' motif, commenting on morality and wisdom in the meme era. Another painting, Zombie, draws on the 1954 Gorbals vampire legend from Glasgow, showing a childlike figure with dayglo pink outlines and hatched marks. Background symbols in this work include a ship, pig's head, and insect found on the Connal building walls. Blue Eye portrays a woman in a white blouse with black drawings of stars and a blackbird, inspired by the Finnish term sinisilmäinen and Maggie Smith's role in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. The figure's cherry-red mouth and tear evoke witches' plight, linking to social media witch hunts. Vuorenmaa's technique combines aggressive wood scoring with sensitive brushstrokes, creating a claustrophobic yet not overbearing effect. The exhibition was reviewed in the March 2019 issue of ArtReview.