Armors
Annabel Kajetski in an exhibition by Odd Collective
Multichannel videoinstallation
Recycled mirrors, 4 screens, 4 headphones and a approx. 5meter wall of mirrors. Duration: approx. 00:10:00 x 4, Language: Fin, Eng
Picture from the Armors exhibition at the Myymälä2 gallery 23.8-15.9.2024. Images by: Myymälä2 team
The project is built upon interviews with three healthcare professionals, each reflecting on the “armors” they rely on to shield themselves from the emotional demands of their work. During the conversations, every participant paints their own symbolic mask, armor, or cape onto a mirror—visualizing the invisible protections they feel compelled to wear.
Drawing from her own experience, Kajetski suggests that healthcare workers are metaphorically compelled to wear masks, armor, or capes—necessary shields against the constant strain of their demanding roles. "It was impossible to be yourself completely, and you constantly felt the need to toughen up," she reflects in her video for the exhibition, where she, too, was interviewed with the same questions as the three healthcare workers she interviewed.
A second central element of the exhibition is a large mirror wall. As visitors stand before the wall, they are invited to consider their own emotional shields and the ways in which they, too, may wear armor in their daily lives.
