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Finnish Sculptor Emma Jääskeläinen Walks Us Through New Exhibition ‘Proper Omelette’
Finnish artist Emma Jääskeläinen began life in performing arts. Struggling to paint and draw, she took up the freedom of sculpture. Her latest exhibition, in the lobby of Helsinki’s Kiasma Museum (a section of the Finnish National Gallery), is a collection of family items designed to draw attention to sustainability and the world around us. She took me on a tour of her exhibition, and answered some quickfire questions about her work, and Finnish design ideals.
Tell me about ‘Proper Omelette’ – such a cool name!
It was a joke at first – a working title – but it refers to something domestic. The exhibition is based around everyday items, things collected from my grandmother, and so on. This atrium is such a large space, so it was a challenge to fill it with such small things, but the natural light works really well with my stone sculptures.
When I think of sculpture, I also think of design. With designers and architects such as Alvar Aalto, Finland is known for its design culture. Do you fit into that?
I think there’s always a pressure to be too ‘designy’, and hopefully I haven’t fallen into that, but I certainly fit the desire to be sustainable. This wool here for example, it’s Finnish, but so much of our wool comes from Australia and New Zealand. We need to do so much more to be environmentally conscious.
How much help do you get with your sculptures?
For this project, a lot. My mum helped with the sculpting and my boyfriend helped with the stone. I oversaw the project, but there’s just so much physical work I couldn’t do alone. I got the commission last June, but I’d say it took about half a year to just source the materials.
If you’re visiting Emma’s exhibition in Helsinki, listen to the walkthrough I did with her, to find out more about each piece as you see it:
‘Proper Omelette’ is on display at the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki until 22nd November 2020.
