Artist Kaarina Kaikkonen Interview: A Father, a Mother & a Child | Louisiana Channel

“In a way, all of my artwork is kind of self-portraits.” Meet one of the leading contemporary Finnish artists, Kaarina Kaikkonen, who tells poignant, personal stories - such as the tragic loss of her father - through her sculptures and gigantic installations made from recycled materials.
Having lost her father to a heart attack at a very young age, Kaikkonen initially wanted to help people, and “to make the world better.” She thus studied physics and medicine, believing that art was a selfish road to take, and it wasn’t until she discovered how therapeutic it was for her to draw her father, that the door to art opened for her: “Then I changed my life into art.” Through her art, and other people’s interpretation of her art, Kaikkonen explores the difficulties of being a human being, with all the different feelings that entail. For the Finnish artist, it’s all about dialogue, how we see each other and how we perceive the world depending on our experiences and feelings. Moreover, though it was initially difficult for her to accept her role as an artist, she has come to realise it’s impact: “Every piece of art can change the world a little bit, and this helps me to accept myself as an artist.”
Kaikkonen also talks about how all the symbols in her artwork stem from her own life. An example of this is her use of clothes similar to her father’s - such as a boat made from used men’s shirts - which has been a way to keep him close. When her work echoes her mother, whom she lost later in life, the expression is more colourful, with high-heeled shoes turned into flowers or insects, or other “female material”, which is transformed into something else - like the passing of her mother. In continuation of this, Kaikkonen likes old or recycled things, and another of her pieces was made from toilet paper, because she felt that this material, like her self, is fragile, passing and “made for going away.”
Kaarina Kaikkonen (b. 1952) is a Finnish artist, who works with sculpture and installations. Her works are often made up of recycled materials such as used shirts, skis or dance shoes, which she assembles into gigantic installations that cast a spell over viewers with an immediate and overwhelming beauty. Kaikkonen has held solo exhibitions at prominent museums worldwide, such as KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Kiasma in Helsinki, MAXXI Museo Nazionale Delle Arti in Rome, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and The Kennedy Center in Washington. Among the awards she has received are the Finland Art Reward (2001), The Public Prize, Den Haag Sculptuur (2004), Honorable Mention in Cairo 11th Biennale (2009) and The Golden Chimera, 1. Biennale International d’Arte di Arezzo (2013). For more see: www.kaarinakaikkonen.fi
Kaarina Kaikkonen was interviewed by Stinna Toft Hald at her studio in Helsinki in March 2018 in connection with her exhibition ‘You Remain in Me’ at KUNSTEN Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, Denmark.
Camera: Rasmus Quistgaard
Edited by: Rasmus Quistgaard
Produced by: Marc-Christoph Wagner
Cover photo: From Kaarina Kaikkonen’s exhibition ‘You Remain in Me’ at KUNSTEN in Aalborg, Denmark
Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2018
Supported by Nordea-fonden
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[@reconsidered123]

a large work of her's, Kohti aurinkoa, kohti kuuta, is installed over the cafeteria at my former elementary school. I remember very vividly looking up to it whenever I would feel bad - there was a sense of hope and playfulness in the way the work interacted with the light in the space and made twists and turns around itself. It's interesting to rediscover the artist this way and how beautifully she talks of her works - I get the same feeling as I did back then, I think.

[@eileencoult4368]

Kaarina's perceptivenes and integrity is so nourishing. The work is moving and therefore beautiful.

[@suzannedesylva3805]

An honour to watch this video

[@lisengel2498]

What a wonderfully sensitive narrative of how basic feelings of existence can be woven into art - And ooening the refection on life and art with the basic question: how is it to be a human being with all kinds of feelings? And that an artwork of personal and unique experience can change the world a little bit - and that art can help to communicate and understand what it is like to be human. And where do a human being begin or end? Where is the outline? I love this question. It puts a focus on our experience of the fabric of life, body, self, world

[@nigelbanksart]

So happy to have this fall into my day - thankyou - a beautiful exchange on the origins of Meaning in our response to materials and to works of art

[@PlasticToyBox]

I admire her so much. Good video!

[@tanyaleef5138]

Loved the interview , honest , unique art, full of imagination, unexpected ,existential

[@CC-vw1cs]

Refreshing, the depth and significance that go into Kaarina's work, how our parents affect our lives...particularly related to the piece "I tried to organize my life"...sensitively put together interview.

[@Gomezgani__]

I felt this. So dearly. ❤

[@cookiemonster3147]

Shes an amazing artist!!

[@om-nj2hw]

What a creative use of old clothes. And then she talked about the meaning of clothing to her, remeberence of her father, exchange of energy etc.

[@lisengel2498]

And it is so beautifully expressed how we give and receive from each other and the way she focuses on dialoque as everywhere as our ways of perceiving - we perceive , interprete and receive energy when sharing experiences with each other - art is an invitation to give and receive lifeexperience

[@AliaMasotti]

she has a very delicate soul, I can feel that she doesn't want to let her childhood and her father go, in a sweet way. His work is a good Neverland because she is able to experience her past relation feelings but she lives it in the present times and, most of all, she connect concretely with people. She also have a fragile idea of death, as if she is extremely afraid of it but, because of this, she embrace it as a (self)desctruction, sometimes through her mother. I love how all this is expressed with feelings. The whole thing is very lovely and tender, thank you

[@mistywatercolormemories]

I love listening to her. I feel like she works through her traumas with art and an optimistic outlook.

[@CuquiLopezCasas]

thanks! she is so close to my experience.

[@coreycox2345]

If you lost a parent young and dealt with your feelings through art, I think you were lucky to find such a productive way of dealing with it, Christina Lopez Casas. I am glad for you. I write but have tried to write about losing my sister and been unhappy with every result. Each time has been different. I think it may take me a while and it will be productive.

[@nedimkufi]

Inspired 🌹

[@nathanieldeclarador1466]

💔 3:50

[@cliffdariff74]

how do artists get these commissions?

[@latetodagame1892]

Jesus! Toilet paper!! You are not disposable!

[@pphedup]

Beautiful woman, but producers, loose the "You're-supposed-to- feel-this-now" muzak. It's distracting from what's really important here and we don't want to be directed by you. Duh....

[@monicacruz4407]

That’s so right, it is a manipulation. Didn’t strike me till you said it