In my art, I explore identity, humanity, history, myths, and eroticism. My art is escapist; I freely combine antiquity and the Middle Ages with the creations of my imagination and deliberate symbolism. Recurring motifs in my works include sleeping youths, vertically rising trees in the background, and figures with serpents for legs or figures holding snakes. The faces and bodies of the melancholic human figures in my works consistently feature the same idealized traits: angelic curls, a straight nose, the outer curve of the calf, and toes where the big toe is shorter than the second toe. Sometimes these human figures invert patriarchal gender roles, and sometimes they exhibit homo- or bi-romanticism.

My drawing technique involves metalpoints: silverpoint and goldpoint. Silverpoint is an old drawing tool from before the invention of the graphite pencil. The Finnish term for "pencil" (lyijykynä, literally "lead pencil" or more accurately "leadpoint") originates from the era of metalpoint, when drawing was done using a rod-like stylus with a silver or lead tip. A modern silverpoint can also be such a "stylus" or alternatively in the form of a refillable pen. The most significant feature of silver is the oxidation of the silver-gray drawing marks over time to a brownish hue. Drawings made with goldpoint do not oxidize but remain gray. The drawing marks of my own 18-carat goldpoint have a bluish-gray tint in its drawing line.

Compositionally, I am interested in traditional Japanese art and am increasingly influenced by it. I am fascinated by fitting landscapes into a vertical format and simplifying them into silhouettes, as well as the empty space in the background. Currently, I am working on a series of works where large trees rise in the background, merging with the white empty space and homo-romantic human figures. The beginning of this series is on display in this exhibition.

About the Artist

I am a Finnish visual artist (b. 1996, Tuusula) at the beginning of my career, working across disciplines in drawing, painting, and sculpting. I graduated in 2020 from LAB University of Applied Sciences after studying for three years at the former Saimaa University of Applied Sciences in Imatra. In August 2024, I was at an artist residency in Lake Haruna, in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, Japan. My most recent solo exhibition was at Galleria Ronga's PikkuGalleria in January 2025. I have participated in juried group exhibitions, most recently in the Finnish Painters' Union's Autumn Salon II in October 2024. I am an active member of the Musta Lista collective, composed of visual artists who studied in Imatra and Lappeenranta, and have participated in the collective's group exhibitions since 2021. Additionally, I am a candidate member of the Finnish Painters' Union and a member of the Järvenpää Art Society.