the single story

Exhibition at Franco Namibian Cultural Centre

Windhoek, Namibia

September 9th - October 6th, 2011

'the single story' wants to break standard perceptions about Africa and Namibia, claiming individuality and braveness through art and writing. It is an intimate and fearless narrative about crossing boundaries, territories and national boarders. Love, beauty, passion, fear, longing, faith, desire, philosophy, confusion, existence, faith, drama, sensitivity, cultural traditions and differences, questioning cultures and ethnicities. Culminating to a journey in the search for internal freedom and individuality. Depicting the emotional life of a lover. Crossing out words from the title of Roland Barthes "A Lovers Discourse". To understand that love cannot be understood with mind and love is the guiding the path into a understanding oneself. The protagonist is a woman called Nina and her lover and muse a man called Bird. 

The story mixes letters, photos, languages, words, texts, thinking and communication between two continents and countries. It writes itself into existence with compulsion from encounters and communication of two people, a subjective experience, depicting human vulnerability, bravery, identity and intimacy. There are as many truths and realities as there are people. Depicting the language of solitude and one mind. Are her thoughts a product of her own self or creations of a new culture? There are words, texts and photographs turning from now into history and of a life lived. A time capsule. Love and passion are the greatest forces for creativity. Art is born from a personal passion and a must to create. The line of thought is spontaneous in-between incomplete going through inspiration, error and uncertainty and truth. 

“the single story” is a book born in a process of a Master's thesis of Niina Turtola between 2009/2010 in Finland and Namibia. There are six printed copies of this self-published book. At the present. It was first exhibited in the Master's of Arts festival in Helsinki, Finland, in May 2010. The work presents itself in the context of conceptual art where the idea and the process are the most important aspects of the work. It turns every day life into art. Life produces art. Chimamanda Adichie said: "Stories matter, many stories matter."

Chimamanda Adichie said: "Stories matter, many stories matter." Niina Turtola tells and collects stories that make a difference in life. 

"It took me a long time to recognize that while I wanted to know love, I was afraid to be truly intimate." bell hooks