election artist
i have adopted the role of the ‘election artist’ for the the historic 2023-24 election cycle to examine the current state of western democracy and electoral systems, and investigates the role of empathy in political culture and dialogue.
in 2024 more voters than ever before will cast their votes around the world, with people in at least 64 countries representing 49% of the world’s population heading to the polls. these elections will set the direction for our futures both as a people and as a planet. we need empathy more than ever before to solve the increasingly complex challenges we face both as a humankind and as a planet, and to learn to understand the experiences and perspectives of our fellow humans as well as other species and beings in a deeper and more meaningful way. at the same time research shows that the global empathy deficit grows rapidly.
as the election artist 2023-24 i will document the debates, campaigns, and conversations, engage candidates and voters alike, gather material to create a growing archive and a series of new artworks in response. i am documenting 5 elections in countries and regions that i have a personal connection to and that represent a meaningful cross section of perspectives, contexts and agendas in current western politics; 1. the finnish parliamentary election 2023, 2. the finnish presidential election 2024, 3. the EU parliamentary election 2024, 4. the UK general election 2024, and 5. the USA presidential election 2024.
on my journeys i meet with as many different parties, candidates and voters / non-voters as possible to listen to their stories, capture their experiences and to try to understand their values and opinions. in my 5 journeys so far I have travelled over to 37,000km across 8 countries, attending rallies and campaign events, witnessing voting, interviewing over 380 people and taking over 8,000 photos and over 150h of video footage.
as the election artist i do not subscribe to a specific political ideology or agenda, nor aim to advance the cause of any single party or candidate, or favour or single out any values or opinions over others. my mission is only to advance the cause of empathy, and i will focus on examining it and understanding it in the lead up to and in the aftermath of the elections and in the current political conversation and culture.
the concept of the 'election artist' is borrowed from the united kingdom where i live. since 2001 the speaker’s advisory committee on works of art has commissioned an election artist ‘to create unique works of art which record each UK general election, for future generations to be informed and inspired by.’ (UK parliament) i believe every election around the world should have an election artist.
the 'election artist' project (2023-24) extends my existing body of work and research focused on investigating the relationship between empathy and power. the work began in 2018 through a collaboration with the parliament of finland; ‘empatia ele: empathy tools for politics’ (2018-19), based on a unique partnership with a group of six elected members of parliament from five different political parties.
follow the project on www.electionartist.com and instagram @ennikukka.studio #electionartist