Ruudu Ulas

“Difficult Objects” (2021-ongoing) explores the intersection of the tangible and the psychological through a series of photographic works. Each piece navigates the space between the familiar and the unknown, prompting reflection of our personal relationships to the ubiquitous public and private structures. “Difficult Objects” sets out to draft how urban territories and domestic spheres collide and merge, leaving oddly shaped gaps where imagination attempts to interpret the connections. The theme of ambiguity and scale is constant, challenging viewers and myself to rethink relational bonds between objects and experiences. The colours flowing through the work evoke emotional spaces, ripe for filling with hopes and dreams, yet these can just as easily become a stage for fears and anxieties. The work stems from the difficulty in articulating these guttural observations in words so with this project I stage a perceptual narrative where the images are tasked with being the guide. Works like “Background” (2019) and “Glasgow/Untitled” (2018) ground the work in materiality and major events while staged scenes in the triptych “Difficult Objects”, “RGB” (2020) and “Awkward Object” (2021) map out the experiential and personal. The project also features "Pigeon-Loop" (2020), a collaboration with magician Luis Carr, depicting a janitor's ceaseless attempts to catch a pigeon. Ultimately, the only viable way out of the situation is acceptance and recognising that other species have as much right to space as we do. "Difficult Objects" blends the real with the felt, urging us to consider our place within the spaces we share.