CANDIDATE 2001

Kaarina Kaikkonen

Kaarina Kaikkonen makes sculptures out of recycled materials such as moulded kraft paper, Polish telephone directories, potato sacks and second-hand clothing. The works for which she is best known are her memorable 'jacket and trouser' installations. Kaikkonen endows her monumental kraft-paper leaves and boat-shaped paper sculptures with a heightened sense of objecthood. Life and death have a tangible presence in many of her sculptures. In June 2000 Kaikkonen and a group of students from the Helsinki University of Art and Design mounted an installation consisting of 3000 men's jackets on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral, paying homage to the building and adding fresh nuances to its meaning. Kaikkonen was awarded the Finnish State Art Prize in 1989.