Saara Lakso: Rakkaudella valitut

Rakkaudella valitut explores the love between queer people, chosen families, and experiences of community. The exhibition constructs a rainbow-hued vision of Finnishness, in which queer figures are placed within the Finnish national landscape and the ornaments of traditional craftsmanship.

Saara Lakso examines in her works her own complex relationship to her roots and home region in North Karelia. At the same time, the works reflect broader experiences of rootlessness among queer people, longing for roots, and the building of visible root systems of one's own. The exhibition also takes a stance against right-wing populist thinking, in which queerness is portrayed as foreign to Finnish life - even though queer people have always been here, in the silent branches of gender and between the lines of history.

Lakso combines oil painting and textile art in her works. The visual language is collage-like: works painted on fabric and assembled using patchwork technique are complemented by inscriptions drawn from Karelian craft traditions.

MUU Helsinki Nykytaidekeskus, 24-28.6.2026. Tue-Fri 12.00-17.00, Sat-Sun 12.00-16.00. Free admission.