Riikka Mäkikoskela
Basic information
b. 1975, Oulu
Sculptor
Residence: Helsinki
Contact information
Email: riikka.makikoskela@elisanet.fi
Artist’s Statement
The basis of my artistic working is cultural, but my approach is physical and material. Through my practice, I seek alternative ways of being, thinking and living in our society. My perspective is distinctly Scandinavian, and, specifically, that of a married woman who had children at a younger age than the national average. There are many agreed, cultural references in our day-to-day living, and art is one of these. Yet everything is in flux. The experience of living cannot be frozen into two dimensions. That’s why I’m a sculptor.
For me, both the choice of material and the ways in which it is manipulated are significant; both have cultural implications. As such, my use of media is wide-ranging – from the traditional materials of sculpture to the basic substances of everyday life. Tactile engagement with these materials is paramount. I enjoy working by hand, responding to the bodily interaction as my pieces evolve.
I see fascinating individuals and surroundings, and am interested in actual, tangible experiences in particular places and times. Memory also plays a role. Even though we can never return to a moment as we first experienced it, time is, in a way, cyclic. The present is constituted in the past, and in the planning of the future. Temporal events get mixed, gaudily, as life rolls spontaneously from a moment to another. Once we recognize that it is possible to organize objects and events other than on a flat, linear, horizontal line, how do we deal with that?
My artistic practice is to think and question through making. It is, instead of planning, a practice and process that promotes intuition and discovery. It’s the most concrete: I know I’m alive.
For me, both the choice of material and the ways in which it is manipulated are significant; both have cultural implications. As such, my use of media is wide-ranging – from the traditional materials of sculpture to the basic substances of everyday life. Tactile engagement with these materials is paramount. I enjoy working by hand, responding to the bodily interaction as my pieces evolve.
I see fascinating individuals and surroundings, and am interested in actual, tangible experiences in particular places and times. Memory also plays a role. Even though we can never return to a moment as we first experienced it, time is, in a way, cyclic. The present is constituted in the past, and in the planning of the future. Temporal events get mixed, gaudily, as life rolls spontaneously from a moment to another. Once we recognize that it is possible to organize objects and events other than on a flat, linear, horizontal line, how do we deal with that?
My artistic practice is to think and question through making. It is, instead of planning, a practice and process that promotes intuition and discovery. It’s the most concrete: I know I’m alive.
