16.10.-9.11.2025

At high tide, it feels like all kinds of things wash ashore. Traces of pasts that have nothing to do with me. Boxes full of stuff from other times. In the middle of an unspoiled environment, traces of human presence still become visible. Who knows what lies on the bottom of the sea – and how much.

In my earliest memory, the greenness of a park blends with the sound of the gravel path crunching beneath the bicycle tires. I’m being given a ride, and I can feel the wind on my cheeks. At the same time, I’m in the water, surrounded by warmth and humidity, like in a jungle – but it’s just the day care center’s pool.

That same churning sense of transience is still present in my works. Something experienced, yet surreal and wonderful. You don’t quite know whether it’s here or imagined – and you don’t even care. There’s a lot of ambiguity and softness in it.

Because of its slowness, drawing demands commitment to the image. An unfinished work follows me and my changing and recurring thoughts from day to day. Once complete, the image often carries a similar sense of fluidity, refusing to stand still.

Maiju Hukkanen (b. 1985) is a Helsinki-based visual artist. In her drawings, she often depicts other kinds of worlds, those that tend to remain invisible. In recent years, she has been interested in dreams, our relationship with other species, and the space between abstraction and representation. Drawing allows her to formulate her thoughts visually, slowly as part of the process.

Contact details
www.maijuhukkanen.com
Instagram: maijuhukkanen