Juha Arvid HELMINEN

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Juha Arvid HELMINEN

Residency Program

Exchange Residency Program (International Creators from abroad)

update: 2025.9.5

Juha Arvid HELMINEN

Participating Project	Exchange Residency Program (Creators from abroad)
Activity Based	Helsinki
City / Place stayed	Tokyo
Period	2025.9- 2025.11

Purpose of the residency

I will work on my animation shorts and do research on my photo series dealing with the misuse of power.

Plan during the residency

For "The Invisible Empire" photo series I will be doing research on the affects of the atomic bomb and I will be taking a trip to Hiroshima.
For my animation work, I will be travelling a lot in Tokyo and outside of it to discover stories I want to tell in reflections in the form of animation
My aim is to make at least seven one scene animations and one longer loop animation.

Activities during the residency

During my first weeks in Tokyo, I spent a great deal of time walking and collecting reference material throughout the city in the form of photographs and sketches. These materials provided clear direction for my drawing process using Inkscape and Photoshop; the resulting drawings were subsequently used to produce my animation clips.
In parallel, I conducted research for my Invisible Empire photo series, focusing on the militaristic history of Japan and, somewhat unexpectedly, on antisemitism in contemporary art. Regrettably, my work is often informed by the darker and more tragic aspects of national histories and individual experiences, and Japan proved to be no exception in this regard.

Outcome of the residency

I will start producing my black photographs inspired by the trip, and I will continue my animation work using reference material and the overall feeling I gained during my residency in Tokyo. In future discussions on art, I intend to address the ethical responsibility of artists to maintain factual accuracy and to conduct thorough research, particularly when engaging with subjects related to conflict and real human casualties, where such responsibility is both critical and unavoidable.