PROJECT (PLACEHOLDER) exhibition at Galleria Loisti in Helsinki. Neon light icons fill the walls of the exhibition space. On the first wall is a generic image placeholder icon, reminiscent of a mountain landscape. On the opposite wall, staring at the landscape, is an anonymous profile picture icon.
On the surface, these simplified placeholder icons—familiar from digital user interfaces—are content-free. Made of basic geometric shapes, they are temporary visual representations of content that will be added later. At the same time, they carry a huge potential, occupying the space for something yet to be seen or specified.
At the gallery, the archetypal icons make a suggestion for an exhibition layout: Here is a portrait, here is a landscape. Stuck in a moment between an idea and the realization, the (PLACEHOLDER) exhibition simultaneously presents nothing and everything.
EXHIBITION CONCEPT, VISUAL IDENTITY
Tomi Leppänen EXHIBITION PHOTOS Unto Rautio YEAR 2026
On the surface, these simplified placeholder icons—familiar from digital user interfaces—are content-free. Made of basic geometric shapes, they are temporary visual representations of content that will be added later. At the same time, they carry a huge potential, occupying the space for something yet to be seen or specified.
At the gallery, the archetypal icons make a suggestion for an exhibition layout: Here is a portrait, here is a landscape. Stuck in a moment between an idea and the realization, the (PLACEHOLDER) exhibition simultaneously presents nothing and everything.
EXHIBITION CONCEPT, VISUAL IDENTITY
Tomi Leppänen EXHIBITION PHOTOS Unto Rautio YEAR 2026