In September 2025, Finnish artist Juha van Ingen joined Circolo Scandinavo in Rome, continuing a practice that moves between video, landscape, time and augmented reality. Originally from the Finnish countryside, Juha has lived in Helsinki since 1990. The pull of both rural and urban environments remains central to his practice:
“Everything has influenced my work. The countryside left me with a strong connection to forests and nature, but the city offers opportunities that keep me active as an artist."
During his residency, the artist will present Monumental at Musei Civici in Spoleto. The work is the latest of a series of experimental lo-fi documentaries shot by Juha van Ingen with a vintage mobile phone. Monumental was filmed in Spoleto and is inspired by Alexander Calder’s great work Teodelapio, created in 1962. The screening is organized by Musei Civici di Spoleto and the initiative will feature, alongside the artist, Stefania Petrillo, Professor in Contemporary Art History at Università di Perugia, and Saverio Verini, Director of Musei Civici. The film is accompanied by a libretto and a soundtrack composed and performed by opera singer Nyla van Ingen, where the text used in the film is generated and translated into medieval Italian poetry through Artificial Intelligence. The result is a piece that challenges traditional formats of documentary and expands into a collective viewing experience.
“I’ve been working with these old smartphones since 2015. It started almost by accident, but I realized the glitches and limitations could open up new ways of seeing. Monumental continues this exploration—looking at what remains, what gets lost, and how time leaves its traces.”
His practice often circles around time, memory, and technological tools. His earlier films – ranging from a glitch discovered on a billboard in Hong Kong to a meditation on the Voyager Golden Record – were also created on outdated smartphones. Parallel to Monumental, Juha van Ingen has in fact developed long-term projects that engage with duration and memory, such as the 1000-year GIF loop As Long As Possible, ASLAP, that has been running since 2017. He reflects on technology with pragmatism and curiosity: “Once a tool is part of everyday life, I feel it’s ready for art. It doesn’t need to be high-tech. It can be as simple as a phone in your pocket.”
During his residency here at Circolo Scandinavo, the artist has been working on a new version for Italy of ORB, a site-specific lo-fi augmented reality sculpture project that engages directly with the city’s urban landscape, that can currently be seen in Japan. “AR sounds high-tech,” he says, “but in reality it’s everyday technology, just not often used in art.” The artwork, accessible by scanning traffic signs with a smartphone, consists of seven colored spheres displayed in more than 50 different combinations, with palettes drawn from iconic works by artists ranging from Sandro Botticelli and Pablo Picasso to Yayoi Kusama.
Rome and its surroundings offered space for reflection and for new directions. Reflecting on his stay at Circolo Scandinavo, the artist highlights the balance between calm and inspiration:
“It’s peaceful, but in five minutes you’re in the middle of Rome. The garden, the food, the walks uphill—all of it created space for reflection to think differently. The residency gave me a chance to step out of routines. There’s time to wander, to notice details, and maybe to find a different rhythm for the work.”
His practice moves between the intimate and the monumental, the fleeting and the enduring. Using looping images, glitch aesthetics, and collaborative sound, his works invite reflection on temporality, digital culture, and the legacies humanity carries forward. Both Monumental and ORB exemplify Juha van Ingen’s search for new artistic forms that expand the boundaries of expression and perception.
Text: Gabriele Valente
Photo: Sara Rynefors