International Talent Support 2018: Swatch Art Prize
Sini-Pilvi Kiilunen evokes a sense of nostalgia through her winning installation
Parallel to the main prize at International Talent Support (ITS), the ITS Artwork concept competition focuses on free artistic expression beyond traditional categorization. This award began in 2014, thanks to Swatch and its Global Creative Director, Carlo Giordanetti. “Each year we select some young designers from the finalists of ITS,” Giordanetti says, “those who we believe clearly have artistic potential. Then we ask them to develop a purely artistic project, an expression of their vision in the shape of artwork. We follow them along the process, we advise and guide them so we get to know them and their work.”
This year’s winner was 28-year-old Helsinki-based student designer Sini-Pilvi Kiilunen who will receive a prize of €10K and six-months paid work experience at the Swatch Lab in Zurich. Kiilunen’s poetic multimedia installation was highly tactile and moving. Through her piece, she investigated the life of a man—via personal effects like notebooks, elaborate embroideries and hand-painted flowers. A dichotomy of traditionally masculine and feminine themes permeated the installation, and the overwhelming feeling was one of nostalgia. The lace, ribbons, embroidery, oil paint and more all added texture upon texture that led to a sense of Kiilunen’s subject’s rich and layered life.
Images by Cool Hunting
