Current

My life as an artist began in Ile-Ife, the sacred city of the Yoruba people in Nigeria. I lived there with my family for the year 1989. I participated in Obafemi Awolowo University's Batic Design course and designed a wax batic textile Observatory Hill as my first practice work. I realized that I too can make this kind of art! I had worked as an art teacher for over ten years, thinking that I couldn't be an artist because I wasn't good in oil painting.

From batik fabrics I continued to wood carving, dried berries, glass shapes filled with berry juices, aquariums, environmental artwork, and so on. Many of my works have been collages or installations of natural objects or abandoned odd things. I grow, collect, and beg for my materials by myself and recycle them. I document my works by photography and videography. This footage too I recycle into my new works.

When it was announced that the theme of Mylly's annual exhibition 2025 would be Celebrations, I wanted to celebrate my 36-year journey as an artist. My artwork Art Celebrates is a compilation of some of my works from over the years. In the beginning there is Observatory Hill (1989), then Womb (1996) made of rose hips, Hommage à Engineering Workshop (2002-2025) compiled from objects from the defunct State Railways Kuopio engineering workshop, as well as parts of the exhibitions Do You Carry Water? Do You Have a Bucket? (2011) and Smoke Sauna 100 Years (2017).

The exhibition is open in the Kuopio City Library's lounge in 13-25 October 2025.

My textile collage Stars Stars participated in the group exhibition of former students who graduated in the 1970s from the College of Arts and Crafts, in Galleria ART anukala in Helsinki in March 2025. It was first presented in Mylly's annual exhibition in the Kuopio City Library's lounge in October 2024. Part of it comes from the artwork Stars Fall that was present at Mylly's exhibition Exception in Varkaus in 2021.

My patchwork Blanket of All The World was present in the 4th part of Mylly's annual exhibition in the Kuopio City Library's lounge in October 2023. The modified artwork was presented in Ars Libera's annual exhibition From The Bowels of The Earth in Outokumpu's Old Mine in Summer 2024.

My artwork Flowing Bottles was displayed in Nuutajärvi Glass Village's 230 years jubilee exhibition Hot Village throughout summer 2023.

Some of my works can be bought or borrowed from the Kuopio Art Lending Service (Kuopion taidelainaamo).

To my study I have constructed a 2nd version of my spatial artwork Where My Home Is? It consists of images of Cape Town's homeless people's lodgings which do not exist any more since they were moved further away because of the corona. My friend Flower Boy with his pals lived in a rhododendron shrub at the edge of the Fruit & Veg market's parking lot. They did random jobs to the market and its customers.

My study is in Mylly's premises in Syrjälä.
The protected Syrjälä building resides behind the Harjula primary care hospital.
Mylly's address is Niuvantie 4 C, Kuopio.