Oona Oikkonen and Jenny Hytönen

Helsinki based artists and friends Oona Oikkonen and Jenny Hytönen collaborate and create and capture Oona’s solo exhibition “Tuhon Tiellä.” “Tuhon Tiellä” means “On the path of destruction” in Finnish, which represents a double meaning: We can either be in the way of destruction or we can block the way to the destruction. Thus, destruction and hope are hand-in-hand. Hytönen’s knit pieces investigate the power of nature and environmental activism. She experiments with materials and techniques, using a 1980s Brother domestic knitting machine and features Oikkonen’s portraits to create the pieces. The two artist’s methods meet to achieve a new form of photographic negative as the light from outside hits the knitwear installation. 

In the construction process, nothing went to waste. Hytönen created garments and upholstered seats from the sample knitwear which contributed even more warmth and softness to the gallery space. 

They plan to continue their collaboration in the future and experiment further with textile and technological possibilities.

Oona Oikkonen seeks to blur boundaries within our initial perception of colors and light. She highlights individual shades of different tones within an overall chord. Her inspiration stems from the power of individuality, and human behavior which she seeks to photograph in a sensual and cinematic manner. 

Jenny Hytönen currently studying in the Fashion Master’s Program in Aalto university Finland. Her work plays with textile and technological possibilities, embodying high craftsmanship and design beyond traditional boundaries.