Tianjun Li Selected through Valo/Light Open Call to exhibit at the Fruitmarket in Scotland

The Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland and Fruitmarket are delighted to announce that Finland-based interdisciplinary artist Tianjun Li has been selected to present a new commission in Fruitmarket’s Warehouse space in Edinburgh this December, selected through the Valo/Light Open Call.

Li’s proposal was selected from more than 80 submissions by Finnish and Finland-based artists responding to the Open Call’s thematic focus: What would you like to imagine in the Fruitmarket Warehouse during the darkest period of winter?

Titled i am, Li’s new site-specific work incorporates multichannel video and sound installation, performance, and other lens-based work. The new body of work will be filmed and produced in Scotland, joining the previous works filmed in Finland, Greenland, and other countries.

I am sends Morse code signals across multiple islands, reaching over isolated geographical borders. The communication reduces to fundamental frequencies: light and the human voice. The work confronts the physical reality of fractured geopolitical borders, collapsing ecological systems, and the chronic anxieties of immigrant identity.

Through an immersive interplay of image, sound and performance, the work invites audiences to reflect on the forces that connect us across boundaries, and on the possibilities for communication, understanding and collective presence amid globally uncertain times.

Li’s creative practice spans lens-based media, sound and voice. Their work has been supported by major Finnish arts funding bodies and presented internationally. Li will receive a €12,000 production budget from the Finnish Institute to develop i am for Fruitmarket.

The exhibition will run from mid-December 2026 to mid-January 2027 in Fruitmarket’s Warehouse space in Edinburgh, Scotland.

“We are delighted to welcome Tianjun Li to exhibit in Fruitmarket's Warehouse this December. Their poignant, playful and socially engaged application sparked meaningful discussion and genuine joy. We are excited by Tianjun’s plan to develop and add to their work during Scottish site visits later this year. The invitations their work extends across borders will be met by a large, globally connected audience present in Edinburgh this winter. “

- Valo/Light Open Call Jury (Sara Kärpänen and Annika Pellonpää from the Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland, Fiona Bradley and Iain Morrison from Fruitmarket and Selina Väliheikki from Oulu Art Museum)

“While working on this project, I often imagine how light and voices could move through the exhibition space in a fluid and porous way, as part of a wider system of transmission. I look forward to bringing this work to the Fruitmarket Gallery, where signals transmitted from distance can finally converge within such a space full of possibility.”

- Tianjun Li, Artist

About Tianjun Li

Tianjun Li (CN/FI, 李天竣), also known as Timjune, is a Finland-based interdisciplinary artist working across lens-based media, sound, and voice. Their practice integrates an expansive four-octave vocal range with synesthetic approaches to translation between image and sound. Li holds a Master of Arts in Visual Cultures, Curating, and Contemporary Art, with a minor in Sound in New Media, from Aalto University.

Li’s work has been presented internationally and supported by Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Saastamoinen Foundation, Frame Contemporary Art Finland, Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Espoo Artist Grant. Li has been awarded residencies and fellowships, including the Saari Residence (Kone Foundation) and the B28 Residency (Nordic Culture Point).

timjune.com (opens a new window)

@timjunelee

About Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland

The Finnish Institute in the UK and Ireland supports the internationalisation of Finnish and Finland-based artists, researchers and social actors. As the leading expert on Finnish culture and society, the Institute enables societal change through art and culture, empowering diverse perspectives and fostering a more inclusive cultural landscape for all. Founded in 1991, the Institute is a non-profit, private foundation funded by the Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture.

fininst.uk (opens a new window)

@fininst_uk_ireland

About Fruitmarket

Located in the heart of Edinburgh, Fruitmarket designs, develops, and presents world-class exhibitions, commissions, publications, performances, events, and participatory activities that open up the artistic process. Fruitmarket aims to create a welcoming space where people can engage with contemporary art and culture in a way that is meaningful to them.

fruitmarket.co.uk (opens a new window)

@fruitmarketgallery

Press Contact

Kanerva Lehtonen

kanerva.lehtonen@fininst.uk

+44 7748 950741