Dorian Bajramovic's art speaks of a Finland that many have not encountered. Through his personal history, he unpacks the concepts of nationality and national identity. Bajramovic has navigated Finland without understanding its language and experienced its culture only through visual images. All cultures are subject to outside influences – and observed from the outside. But what does it mean to be an outsider? Is a 'new' Finland distinct from a 'young' Finland?

Maria Duncker might exclaim, "Hello!". The greeting can be carved in stone – or even on a potato. In the middle of a performance, it can be seen as a greeting, an announcement of one's diagnosis, or a question of whether common sense exists in our society. She also joyfully greets her collaborators and participants in communal activities. If life is chaotic, so be it. For Maria Duncker, art is unrestricted – it is about walking hand in hand.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Elina Försti's art is based on colour theory. She explores her surroundings through broken and pure tones, complementary colours, contrasts, warm and cool nuances, saturation, quantity, and proportion—essentially, how our eyes interpret and perceive colours. For her, grey is not a default colour. While often viewed as neutral, lifeless, and uninspiring—a colour deemed trivial—grey holds a meaning that may not be immediately apparent.

In Ramina Habibollah's process-based installations, words have a powerful meaning. However, her works do not focus on the information contained within the words, but rather on their immateriality, the shifts in their meanings, and their temporality. Habibollah connects her ideas - everyday and intimate confessions - to the cycle of nature. The principle of mass conservation and transformation is juxtaposed with immateriality and intuition.

Life is at the centre of Minna Havukainen’s art. She specifically explores life events that are universal yet so personal and intimate they often leave us feeling isolated. In the face of birth and death, we are perpetually inexperienced and expectant - unaware of what these experiences will create or bury within us as time passes. The primary technique in Havukainen's work involves direct human interaction.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Heikki Hautala's body of work can be seen as a single expansive painting. It is impossible to determine where his work began or where it is going. Hautala creates out of both desire and necessity. However, this ongoing process is not merely a straightforward progression; it involves analysing mistakes and successes, pausing to reflect on what has been created, and defining and naming that creation. His paintings are often personified as portraits - of everyone and no one.

Pauliina Jokela is a sculptor, but her media is not limited to objects. At times, her artistic expression takes the form of communal or solo performances, which she documents through photographs. Jokela could also be titled an environmental artist - many of her works speak of the effects of the environment on the individual. The familiar and safe, the foreign and exclusionary, the incomprehensible and inexpressible, and the covering and protective are all factors in her art that impact the environment.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Human communication is about transmitting messages. The basis for successful communication is that everything is named, classified, and defined. However, this is not true in the bacterial, fungal, plant, and animal kingdoms. Matias Karsikas communicates with his materials and enables them to interact with one another. Through durable materials like ceramics and glass, he conveys the resilience, vitality, and persistence found in nature.

Kastehelmi Korpijaakko addresses capitalism with values gentler than those driven by market forces. The practice of land ownership is a human invention. Gods and kings – and various others – have been appointed to govern over the land. Borders have been established and fought over, justified by the notion of people’s right to control the environment. “If property law shapes the way we relate to other people, what effect does it have on our relationship with other beings”, the artist asks.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Virve Lilja works with the interfaces of images. In her work, non-representational and representational elements often depict human beings, even though recognisable characters are typically absent. For Lilja, portraying people means seeing their actions and interpretations. Life leaves traces that various people will interpret in different environments and time periods. Is there a common, intuitive denominator that can be identified in these visual messages?

Artist introduction coming soon...

At first glance, Simo Mantere's art appears non-figurative – the underlying themes are often revealed only by the works’ titles. However, Mantere’s artistic expression is not abstract. His paintings result from pruning, removing, focusing, and emphasising. From an initially chaotic environment, only the essential elements remain. Yet, Mantere's works are not mere simplifications; they reveal harmony and balance that emerge from chaos.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Teemu Mäenpää's art and oeuvre contain anarchy, opinions, and confrontation through art, smiles, and positivity. His topics and themes are undefined and unlimited. Everything - and nothing - can be resisted. The different degrees of refusal, such as whatever, don’t care, not now, maybe later, and an absolute no, are all opinions expressed with negation. Mäenpää's art allows you to choose your position.

Artist Maija Närhinen can be categorised as an organiser. Yet, through her organising practice, she dismantles classifications and re-categorises objects and things, questioning their original nature. These items can be categorised by purpose, material, or even form. Similarities form groups of objects. Närhinen illustrates that there can be several unifying factors and that generalisations are bound to perspectives.

One Love Group (Antti Pussinen and Kaija Papu) began as an anonymous group. The universal concept of love is not personalised - it is the same for all and indistinguishable. On the other hand, love as an emotion is personal and sacred to its bearer. The One Love Group has shown that acts of love are beautiful but brutal and are not necessarily respectful of other loves. Even expressions of love can be vandalism. One must love responsibly.

Marja Patrikainen's art shifts from being recognizable and tangible to obscure and undesirable. The three-dimensional sculptures transform into paintings and back again. Her animal world is both fantastic and anarchic. The creatures born from Patrikainen’s imagination are independent, strong, loved, and exploited. Within her fantasy world, we see what it is to be human.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Mikko Rekonen's art explores the inner world of human beings. Our external environments are dominated by the pursuit of material possessions, relentless production growth, and the illusion of well-being that comes with abundance. As emotions disrupt productivity, they need to be outsourced to entertainment and free-time use. Rekonen depicts the tension between internal and external demands as people strive to accomplish as much as possible within their limited time.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Erkki Saarilehto (1953-2007) was not particularly bookish, however, he gladly illustrated all the blank spaces in his school textbooks with his imaginative drawings. He harnessed his art to convey a message of peace and brotherhood. Inspired by the symbolism of the Kalevala, the sculptor carved figures of Väinämöinen out of dead wood. Erkki Saarilehto was a man of great vitality, who used the Kalevala and folk tales to sculpt an unarmed and humane future.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Teemu Salonen's art is characterised by its sprawling nature. His garden defies traditional growing zones. The collection of plants is both familiar and foreign, exotic, and representative of other cultures. As people spread across the globe, they spread various species and brought others back home. The built environment encompasses not only buildings and road networks but also gardens, wooded fields, and other attempts to control vegetation.

Heidi Saramäki's works build upon interaction. In her work, interaction is born from the collaboration of her mediums - drawing, photography and video – and the tension between the viewer and the artwork. Video and photography create reproductions of our environment that are narrow glimpses of the big picture, rendering the reproduction an illusion. Saramäki's works demonstrate that development destroys previous states of being.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Paula Tella’s works, which revolve around the theme of embodiment, emphasise the influence of the mind, consciousness, subconscious, and culture on what and how we are. For Tella, being is holistic, where all emotions are valid and equal. Feelings such as freedom and frustration are on the same line. The question behind her actions is complex: What am I allowed to do and what am I allowing myself to do? This question serves as a starting point and is anything but straightforward.

As an artist, Tommi Toija has created his own recognisable world that intersects with the reality around us. However, this world is devoid of societal structures, laws, and cultures—both past and future. There is no concept of time. His world is made up of mere moments. Yet - and perhaps for that very reason - we can identify with its characters. Emotions dominate Toija’s world - compassion in particular.

Päivi Tuovinen travels beyond narrow gravel roads and dead ends to capture the subjects of her photographs. She often wanders through these neglected national landscapes to photograph sites with foul names given by the locals. What is the connection between a place name and its history? Names are descriptive; however, they describe not only the environment but also the name-giver, the era, and the shared experiences of the surrounding community - the mindscapes.

Pekko Vasantola explores themes related to the mind and senses using cutting-edge technology rather than psychology. With technology, he expands the boundaries of the body and senses and aims to convert intangible thoughts and feelings into physical forms. How could a person sense something imperceptible to the human senses? Without a sense, how could one rely on their senses?

Milja Viita's works inspire viewers to contemplate the nature of art as an event. While her work partly relies on documentative methods, it does not aim to describe, record, or present things as they truly are or were. Art does not arise from linear events that unfold before us; rather, it exists in the gaps and fluid connections within the flow of images. Insights emerge from the backgrounds of the subjects depicted.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Lin Cheung's work challenges the traditional uses and meanings of jewellery and objects. She responds to everyday experiences and perceptions by deconstructing them with the help of various materials. However, Cheung often works with stone. The familiar elements of badges appear frequently as the inspiration for her work. Living her life in the UK has inspired her to incorporate political commentary on topics such as Brexit in her practice.

Ana Escobar Saavedra's works explore themes of identity and identification. Passports, identity cards and similar documents have standardised shapes and sizes, making them easily recognisable as official proofs of identity. These documents hold different values, contributing to societal hierarchy. Documents written in stone are permanent, eternal, and fragile.

Benedict Haener's works are not what they seem. Easily recognisable subjects are revealed as something else. This shift in form provides a surprise and the suddenness sparks discussion on materialism, material values, or global economic resources. These status-symbol-like necklaces and bracelets question well-being, financial success, wealth, fame, and mammon. Not forgetting ethical and moral values.

Jussi Järvinen's artistic work focuses mainly on the diversity of species and questioning human-centredness, as well as gender and sexuality from a queer perspective. Humans and other animals are closely intertwined. Their interactive relationship is contradictory: both nurture and violence are present at the same time. Non-human animals are cared for and diminished – linguistically and concretely by butchering into 'delicious food'.

Liisbeth Kirss represents a new generation of artists. For her, infinite girlishness and positive boldness are a superpower. Femininity is an active and unpretentious asset. Her works and productions draw inspiration from girl groups, nightlife, and love. While the rest of society is still contemplating notions of gender roles or beauty standards, Kirss has already moved onto the things with grills flashing: public approval is unnecessary.

Nadiye is interested in the self and the body, which she explores mainly through small sculptures - alongside the experimentalism of video and printed images. Her works are gentle, decoded explorations of how forms and materials influence the interpretation of gender – and what else androgyny could be. Her works occupy a handmade quality combined with the expressive power of contemporary art. For Nadiye, the wearability of jewellery creates new possibilities for communication.

Most symbols of evil in various societies today have one thing in common: they are based on the symbols of ancient mythological female characters or archetypes. Jasmin Matzakow sheds light on this millennia-long contempt for the female body and its symbols. Her work addresses issues of men and women, strength, fragility, aggression, fertility, and rituals.

Nanna Melland's works are a carefully crafted narrative about human existence. She takes a curious approach to human life, the activities of individuals and groups, our rituals, and symbols. Mellander’s works reflect her thorough groundwork and deep understanding of the subjects at hand. The works are meticulous. The methods and materials differ between the series, serving each one perfectly.

For Maria Nuutinen, being an artist offers an opportunity for versatility. Coming from a religious family has influenced her exploratory and sometimes contradictory approach to jewellery and decorative arts. Nuutinen's techniques and materials serve the works at hand. She blends craft methods with photography and image manipulation, and there are no impossible combinations. A surreal sense of humour is present in her everyday life.

Historical interiors, fashion, and various curiosities create a framework for Anna Rikkinen's work. The history of adornment, the body, time, and memories are key concepts in Rikkinen's art. She plays with scale, collects wooden everyday objects and other materials considered worthless - and partly tasteless - and uses them to create works that evoke, among other things, valuable nostalgia and melancholy.

The late Swedish artist Åsa Skogberg (1964-2017) used classical jewellery elements - such as silver, pearls, and gemstones - in her works. Her message is powerful and goes beyond mere adornment. On display in Mänttä is a classic of jewellery art in many ways. The work is not something to be worn, but an image that speaks of the history of jewellery, its possibilities and beauty, as well as of the subjugation of women and the reclamation of power.

Hansel Tai explores queer culture in the post-internet era, where naturalness is trampled underfoot by transformations, subcultural signifiers, and fetish objects. Within this context, Tai creates tantalising contradictions by combining enduring natural materials with elements like piercings. His works traverse multiple timelines as if inviting us to experience and imagine different realities – with enthusiasm and engagement.

Vivi Touloumidi is an artist, researcher, and artisan. She is interested in how wearable artwork – specifically jewellery – can convey socio-political messages. When worn, jewellery can proclaim, shout, hint, whisper, or be an instrument of cultural activism. In modern culture, we wear jewellery of our own free will. However, historically, emblems attached to the body may have functioned as instruments of social hierarchy rather than celebrations of identity. Though small, jewellery is symbolically powerful.

Wen-Ju Tseng employs witty language in her works. With straightforward metaphors in the titles of her works, she comments on culturally constructed roles. The union between the jewellery and the title can also be humorous. The combinations of materials and themes encourage us to look at accustomed habits and ingrained expectations from different perspectives, celebrating self-expression. Her expression is playful, even when addressing themes such as self-determination and bodily autonomy.

Lisa Walker is an acknowledged polymath in her use of materials. Throughout her extensive career, she has created objects that merge influences from all aspects of culture and life. Walker's work often references the jewellery world of recent decades as she questions and explores the meaning of jewellery and its possibilities. Walker situates her work around jewellery's history, future, and boundaries. Her assembled works evoke a giddy curiosity.

Zhipeng Wang studied in China before completing his postgraduate studies in Germany. His work focuses on how individuals position themselves within different cultures. In his work, the two cultures, familiar and new, go hand in hand. Is it true that it's easier to see things from a distance? Wang's work takes the form of a jewellery archetype: a signet ring designed for everyday use. Cultural conventions extend beyond daily activities. They are present in moments of pause and social interactions, such as coffee and tea breaks.

Joonas Peltola sculpts with various materials such as lead, bronze, wood, plaster, concrete, fabric, paper, mortar, twigs - you name it. Changing techniques frequently with one work to the next has meant he has not acquired an excellent command of them - leaving room for chance. For Peltola, art serves as a form of communication and, by extension, as a means of promoting peace. As long as we can communicate, violence in unnecessary. The viewer has the right to decide for themselves what they dare to hear, experience, and think.

The central themes of Pekka Peltola's art are disarmament and peace - these concepts form the core and foundation of his entire body of work. Through Cubism and Pointillism, Peltola discovered his distinctive painting technique, creating surfaces that change colour fluidly. Texts, meditations, declarations, and quotations reinforce his gentle nudge to non-violence. The exhibition Unarmed Finland can be seen in part as Pekka Peltola's creation - his continuous life's work.

Riitta Pietilä is captivated by the uniqueness of moments. She captures both the small and large miracles of life through her photography, finding beauty in nature and among people. Alongside her musical practice, she has discovered another non-verbal way to express the beauty and dignity of life – photography. The fullness of life can be expressed in many ways. In addition to acting in the Väinölä Summer Theatre's play of summer 2025, Pietilä is one of the play's scriptwriters.

Erkki Saarilehto (1953-2007) was not particularly bookish, however, he gladly illustrated all the blank spaces in his school textbooks with his imaginative drawings. He harnessed his art to convey a message of peace and brotherhood. Inspired by the symbolism of the Kalevala, the sculptor carved figures of Väinämöinen out of dead wood. Erkki Saarilehto was a man of great vitality, who used the Kalevala and folk tales to sculpt an unarmed and humane future.

Juha Saarilehto began his artistic career with the joy and disappointment of working with copper sheets – and with the astonishment brought by the first test print. He is still drawn to visual art by surprising and inventive observations. Impulses arise from the state of the world, from encounters with people and from small individual moments. For Saarilehto, art is about taking a stand. All acts of nonviolence are valuable.

Merja Saarilehto discovered oil painting at a young age. Art has always been one of the most important aspects of her life, alongside her community and peace activism. Over the years, she has broadened her artistic techniques to include pastels and collages. Saarilehto has been involved in the Unarmed Finland exhibition from the beginning. While the theme of the exhibition has remained consistent, the works displayed have changed. Saarilehto draws inspiration from the Kalevala, reflecting the roots and symbolism of the Finnish people.

Satulia Saarilehto identifies as an artistically oriented artisan. She is passionate about the multidisciplinary and communal aspects of theatre and is drawn to its ephemeral nature—scenes that require significant time and effort to create ultimately vanish after the performance. To balance the complexity of theatre, Saarilehto practices a more one-dimensional medium – photography. Images record moments.

By joining the community of Ihmisyyden tunnustajat, Reija Tähtinen discovered her identity as a visual artist. Her luminous watercolour works focus on the human figure – especially the human face. Through art, Tähtinen seeks to portray the inner reality and spiritual growth of human beings, which are the path to sustainable disarmament. Art encourages independent thinking and the communal exchange of ideas. We need support to create a more humane future.

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

Artist introduction coming soon...

The names of the young artists will not be published.