Saara Hannus (b. 1984) is curator and artist from Helsinki. She makes social conceptual art, in which she autobiographically explores human relationships made possible through art and the relation between relationships and work. In addition to her personal work she has been active in many collectives and groups. Hannus was a part of the team of XL Art Space which was active in Kaisaniemi, Helsinki. She is teaches at Art School Maa and aside from art, also Finnish at school; Finnish language and writing in Finnish is an important tool for Hannus.
Hannus studied Finnish language at the University of Helsinki 2004–2012 and visual art at Art School Maa 2008–2011, after which she moved into Academy of Fine Arts and graduated from the first class of Praxis education program in 2015. Her master's degree work for Academy of Fine Arts was the exhibition Mä haluan sut (I want you) (Exhibition Laboratory Project Room), which generated a lot of interest both in the field of contemporary art and Finnish media. The exhibition was partaken by five artists – Jesse Darling, Mira Kautto, Anni Puolakka, Jaana Ristola and Emmi Venna – who where, in one way or another, objects of Hannus' love. In the exhibition the works of the participating artists compared with Hannus's bare diary notes, whose originals one could read in the exhibition space. In the written part of her graduation work, Hannus wrote about her work under the additional title Kuraattori rakastajana (Curator as Lover). In November, 2015, Hannus reflected her experience of her exhibition in her statement Taiteilija-kuraattorisuhteen etiikka (Ethics of Artist-Curator Relationship) in the seminar Moraalinen taide (Moral Art) at Asematila, Helsinki.
In the event Là-bas→ Self as the Third, Hannus presents a brand new work, which she has been making during the residence period of Sorbus gallery in July 2017. The completed piece, whose working title is Kaipaaja rakastuu Jumalaan, kuuhun, julkkikseen, mulkkuun (Yearner falls in love with God, Moon, a celeb, a dick), deals with absence and longing for the other as a style or position of being in the world. The work is a depiction of a scheme of leaving.
Self as the Third
