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© Image: Arja Kärkkäinen: Moon Bearer, 2024. Foto: HAM / Sonja Hyytiäinen.

Moon Bearer

Artist Arja Kärkkäinen

Teinintie 12, 00640 Helsinki

Indoor Sculpture

The work is on limited viewing, only for users of the premises.

Arja Kärkkäinen’s work Moon Bearer dominates the hall of the Oulunkylä Primary School’s extension. Next to the large wall tapestry is a painted inset resembling the moon. The title refers to the moon’s mysterious and romantic unattainability. 

The work is a playful blend of light and shadow. The tapestry’s arched figure is carrying moonlight under its arm. Instead of a beam of light, the moon casts a shadow on the ground, and the arched figure’s pale shadow can be seen as light. The gently surrealistic work draws its main inspiration from Italian painter Giorgio de Chirico’s (1888–1978) paintings. The tapestry was created using the jacquard technique. Kärkkäinen’s drawing, originally sketched in coloured pencils, was transformed into an interplay of threads in the tapestry. From a distance, the colours blend into new colours and a shimmering surface.  

Arja Kärkkäinen (b. 1986) lives in Helsinki and works in Mustio. She graduated from the University of the Arts Helsinki’s Academy of Fine Arts with an MA in fine arts and as a specialist in public art, as well as from the Lahti Institute of Design as a fashion designer. Kärkkäinen works primarily with sculpture, but multidisciplinary art and a wide range of techniques are an essential part of her work. Kärkkäinen’s works explore social themes such as involvement and unspoken agreements within society and between people.

The work belongs to the City of Helsinki’s art collection, which is managed and curated by HAM.

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