Jani Leinonen

Jani Leinonen (born 22 March 1978 in Hyvinkää[1]) is a Finnish visual artist. Leinonen is known for his public artworks criticising capitalism by using the imagery and icons of corporate brands.[2][3] He graduated from the Helsinki Academy of Fine Arts in 2002.[1]

Jani Leinonen in 2015.

Artworks and controversies

In January 2011, Leinonen led a group calling themselves the "Food Liberation Army". The group stole a life-size statue of Ronald McDonald from a Helsinki McDonald's restaurant, and posted videos on their website threatening to "decapitate" the clown if McDonald's would not answer questions about its ethics. However, McDonald's refused to "negotiate with criminals", and the Finnish police raided Leinonen's home, arresting two people and seizing cell phones and computers.[4]

In June 2014, Leinonen's Budapest pop-up installation "Hunger King" criticized Hungary's law that banned homeless people from sleeping in public areas. The installation imitated a Burger King restaurant.[5]

In December 2014, a Tokyo gallery removed Hello Kitty and Doraemon-branded shoes that were a part of Leinonen's exhibition satirising copyright laws.[6]

In 2015, Leinonen was one of the artists invited to the temporary art project Dismaland organised by street artist Banksy.[7]

In January 2019, Leinonen's artwork "McJesus", a crucified Ronald McDonald, caused a riot in Haifa, Israel. Hundreds of Christian protesters gathered by the Haifa Museum of Art throwing stones to the police, as they were blocked from entering the museum to remove the statue.[8] Leinonen stated that he asked the Museum to remove it in September 2018 but his request was denied, and his art piece is now being used against his will. The Museum staff contacted Leinonen prior to opening the exhibition, asking for the work, and was referred by him to the Zetterberg Gallery, which owns the work. The gallery loaned the statue to the museum. It was reported that after Leinonen's request for its removal, the museum contacted the owning gallery and received approval to continue exhibiting the artwork.[9][10]

References
  1. "Artist Known as Jani Leinonen". Jani Leinonen Official Homepage. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  2. "Finnish pop artist pokes at the worlds of advertising and art". Embassy of Finland, Washington D.C. 3 February 2009. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  3. Voon, Claire (20 August 2015). "Learn to Fight Capitalism at the School of Disobedience". Hyperallergic. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  4. "Answer our questions McDonalds, or Ronald gets it!". France 24. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  5. Nolan, Dan (15 June 2014). "Hunger King: the artwork highlighting the plight of Hungary's homeless". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  6. "Tokyo gallery loses nerve over Finnish artist's corporate branding artwork". Yle News. 23 December 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  7. Wyatt, Daisy (26 August 2015). "Dismaland: The artists doing cooler things than Banksy at his 'bemusement park'". The Independent. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  8. Shpigel, Noa (11 January 2019). "Hundreds Protest in Israel Over 'McJesus' Art Exhibit". Haaretz. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  9. Earnst, Douglas (14 January 2019). "Jani Leinonen, 'McJesus' creator, says Haifa exhibit not his choice after Arab Christians protest". The Washington Times. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
  10. Riba, Naama (14 January 2019). "BDS-backing Artist Asked Haifa Museum to Remove His Controversial 'McJesus' Sculpture". Haaretz. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
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