VEENA MALIK PROJECT
The six contemporary art pieces that changed the world AND REACHED +300MM PEOPLE
…OR WHAT HAPPENDS WHEN A MUSLIM PAKISTANI SUPERSTAR ACTRESS GOES TO FINLAND TO BE BODYPAINTED FOR SIX WORKS THAT COMMENTED ON THE COMMON ORIGIN OF ALL SPIRITUALITY ACROSS THE WORLD TRADIOTIONS.
A similar value structure as well as a common goal usually makes collaborations possible. Finnish mixed media artist Vesa and Pakistani actress Veena Malik set out to explore not only what their lives had in common but what unifying thread connects all life on this planet. The process showed us just how similar we fundamentally are across seemingly daunting cultural differences. We feel this art can contribute to a conversation that has been going on for a very long time. How can we, as a race of people, move forward to a more harmonious shared experience?
Legacy media coverage alone was 300M+
We had no way to measure the virality of the whole project, so we just count the legacy media part, which was more measurable.
Vesa Kivinen
Originally educated as a film director in the UK, innovated his own form of mixed media art in 2008 titled Artevo, which has gathered substantial international exposure as well as critical acclaim.
Veena Malik
A Bollywood superstar since the age of 15. Has worked as a representative at the World Health Organization. She also sponsors a child at the SOS Children's Village, an NGO based in Pakistan working with orphaned children.
What happened
We explored the common origin of all spirituality all over the world and presented a harmonious foundation
the creative process consisted of over 2 years of intense research, travels to five countries and countless hours of open conversations. The challenge was to let go of everything that was not serving the spirit of discovery.
Bridge building
Philosopher Ken Wilber's integral theory as well as countless documentary films and books served as the foundation to find a solution based orientation. The works were made in the spirit of building bridges between the East and West with content that strived for respect and gratitude for all traditions in our emerging truly global culture.
unity
These works are now part of our cultural history as a positive progressive force. They are a reminder on how all of our cultures are still emerging ones. How nothing is really set in stone and our future really is what we choose to make of it.
Beauty
Professor Christopher Alexander some time ago stated: "It is time for us to live in beauty" as he noted that every action we make in a time of global crises should reflect beauty on a level or another.
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Flower Of Life
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Beginning of a New Era
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Mohenjo Daro
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Musta Hevonen (Black Horse)
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Dawn
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Fortress
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From Helsinki Capital Partners show with Jon Anthony West
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London private house show opening
“Vesa’s art is amongst the most integrally advanced in the history of Western abstraction – no small claim, but one backed up by the works themselves. Rather than abstraction as a fleeing from life, his works are a diving into the incarnate mystery of human being — direct celebrations of the fullness of Life.”
— Michael Schwartz, Professor of History and Philosophy of Art, Augusta State University, March 2014
“When Finnish artist Vesa Kivinen captures your “portrait,” he doesn’t just hint at the contents of your soul—your deepest fears, desires, triumphs, and avenues of personal expression. Vesa brings them all to the surface, creating collage imagery that reveal more about his subjects than even the subjects themselves thought possible. While he is not the first to do this kind of work, he may very well be the best. ”
— DL Cade, Editor in Chief of 500px, February 2016
“Kivinen’s work had no points of reference. Unlike most local artists, Kivinen wasn’t recycling successful foreign approaches and adapting them within a local context. He wasn’t replicating a preexisting genre or playing out well-known devices. Whether for better or for worse, Kivinen is – as childish as this may sound – an original.”
— Rory Winston, Cultural editor of the New York Resident August 2014
“What occurs is a reinvention of cultural norms as we understand them. It is Postmodern in its very essence, but with an added element of natural rudimentary common in the Renaissance period, which counteracts futuristic notions. Geat art usually involves the combination of beauty, imagination and extraordinary skill, and artist Vesa Kivinen is no exception.”
— Lead Editor Aisha Farooq on Artevo / Veena Malik Project on DesiBlitz 8/2013
“It is a pleasure to recognize and appreciate Vesa’s work before he becomes a global star.”
