Kaarina Kaikkonen

The Longing of a Wild Rose (Villin ruusun kaipaus) is a soft sculpture and wall installation by Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen. Crafted from upcycled men's shirts, the 170 × 220 × 21 cm piece transforms everyday textiles into organic forms that explore themes of memory, identity, and human connection. It is part of the collection at the Uppsala Art Museum and has been featured in exhibitions like The Tears Shed Because of You at Galerie Forsblom

This artwork is part of the museum collection of the Sara Hilden Art Museum in Finland

This piece is made of men´s ties and it explores human vulnerability, memory, personal histories, and the delicate boundary between the internal self and the external world. The artwork belongs to the permanent collection of the Finnish National Gallery / Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki

The Wall”, 1993
Kivipankki, Jämsä, Finland
Part of the Jämsä City Art Collection

A permanent public artwork constructed from recycled jackets, interacting with the architecture of the historic Kivipankki building.

"The Wall" redefines a simple barrier into a monument of human life and memory. In my practice, empty jackets carry the phantom weight, presence, and shadows of their previous owners. By aligning them tightly across the wall, the individual garments lose their solitude and merge into a collective silhouette—exploring themes of authority, human resilience, and the profound emptiness left in the wake of time.

Photo: Kristiina Lähde

”And The Sea Was Empty” (Ja meri oli tyhjä), 1998
Part of the Sara Hildén Art Museum Collection, Tampere, Finland

A monumental wall installation composed entirely of second-hand men's shirts.

Seascapes and references to emptiness are recurring elements in my practice, deeply intertwined with personal loss, longing, and the search for meaning beyond surface realities. In this work, the rows of white and light-toned shirts cascade toward a horizon line like a vast, quiet ocean. As the physical fabrics carry the subtle outlines, memories, and shadows of anonymous lives, they serve as a reminder of our fleeting existence

Installation made of old shirts, donated by local people..

Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia 2012..Curator Marina Dacci, Photo Dario Lasagni

https://weareoca.com/subject/fine-art/looking-artists-kaarina-kaikkonen/

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Installation made of Finnish toilet paper. First version of this work was on show 1997 in Fiskars Finland

Installation made of Finnish toilet paper.

https://konstmuseum.uppsala.se/utstallningar/kaarina-kaikkonen/

Two commissions by Brighton Festival and Fabrica.

The Blue Route at Fabrica and Time Passing By at the Clocktower in the city centre.

Curators Liz Whitehead and Michael Rosen

https://brightonfestival.org/event/287/the_blue_route/

https://www.culture24.org.uk/art/art425657

Site specific installation in two parts, made of recycled shirts from local people. Comission by Centro Pecci

https://saciart.wordpress.com/2014/05/16/prato-contemporanea-features-kaarina-kaikkonen-and-emilio-isgro-may-16-18-2014/

A commission by Brighton Festival 2013 and Fabrica Gallery.

The other installation Blue Route was inside Fabrica Gallery.

Curators Michael Rosen, Liz Whitehead

https://brightonfestival.org/guest_director/2013_michael_rosen/

https://brightonfestival.org/event/287/the_blue_route/

Installation made of donated shirts, forming two wings at the aiport in Buffalo. Commission by Albright Knox Art Gallery

https://www.albrightknox.org/community/ak-public-art/we-share-dream

A Bird on a Wire, 2018. KUNSTEN Art Museum, Aalborg, Denmark

A large scale solo exhibition “You Remain in Me” in Kunsten, Aalborg, Denmark. Curator Stinna Toft

https://kunsten.nu/journal/kaarina-kaikkonens-mange-mange-skjorter/

And It Was Empty

Kaarina making her installation And It Was Empty in Wyoming Art Museum, USA, 2007. Curator Susan Moldenhauer.

The first version of this large scale installation made of men´s jackets was in Malmö Art Museum, Sweden, 2000.

Now this work belongs to the collection of KUNSTEN Art Museum in Aalborg, Denmark

http://www.uwyo.edu/artmuseumimages/docs/kaarina_ed_packet.pdf

https://vimeo.com/286165016

A Bird, 2013
Site-specific installation made of used shirts
Arezzo International Biennale, Arezzo, Italy, 2013

Suspended in space like a bird poised for flight, A Bird transforms discarded garments into a light, breathing silhouette. The fragile yet expansive form evokes longing, freedom, and the quiet resilience of the human spirit within the historic architecture of Arezzo.

Kaarina Kaikkonen's We Are Still The Same, 2018, installation made from old shirts at SALT Oslo

http://finno.no/index.php/program/utstillinger/95-20-9-kaarina-kaikkonen-we-are-still-the-same

Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water, 2006
Site-specific installation made of used shirts and blouses
Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, Niigata, Japan, 2006

Spanning across the rural landscape of Niigata, Like A Bridge Over Troubled Water was constructed from second-hand garments donated by local residents. Suspended in the open air, the installation forms a fragile, poetic bridge between people, memory, and nature—evoking connection, care, and human resilience in a changing countryside.

Shadow, 1999
Site-specific installation made of men's jackets collected from the Tampere area
Tampere, Finland, 1999

Composed of used men's jackets donated by residents of the Tampere region, Shadow transforms familiar garments into a monumental, hovering presence. At the former Finlayson textile industrial area, the installation evokes both collective memory and the quiet, lingering trace of human existence—like a shadow cast by lives lived.

Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes.Santiago, Chile. 2013.

Curators: Julia P. Herzberg, Maria Josè Bunster

http://www.artealdia.com/International/Contents

http://www.mnba.gob.cl/617/w3-article-9296.html?_noredirect=1

http://www.ellalabella.cl/la-ropa-como-memoria-la-instalacion-de-arte-que-kaarina-kaikkonen-realizo-en-chile/

This installation was in the Museum of Memory and Human Rights

Curators: Julia P. Herzberg, Maria Josè Bunster

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOuCeR2_56s

Installation made of everyday objects which belonged to Kaarina´s mother who passed away.

installation made of things that belonged to Kaarinas mother who passed away

installation made of things that belonged to Kaarinas mother who passed away

An old dancing shoe, a spoon. Serie of sculptures made of women´s dancing shoes

Sculpture made of an used dancing shoe

An old dancing shoe, a spoon

An old dancing shoe, a spoon

Used old dancing shoes, spoons. Solo exhibition in Charlottenborg, Copenhagen Denmark in 2006

There is a fish head inside the shoes.

A huge boat in two parts. Made of shirts, donated by Washington people.

A commission by the Kennedy Center for the NORDIC COOL festival 2013.

Curators Gilda Almeida, Alicia Adams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHF2monXyPQ

Installation made of donated shirts from Washington area. A form of a huge boat, in two parts.

The Hall of Nations, Kennedy Center Washington DC USA

Installation made of childrenś dresses and shirts, donated by families in Rome area