This exhibition features the works of two young comics artists: Saskia Gullstrand from Sweden and Riina Tanskanen from Finland. Feminism and the defence of one’s viewpoints are the themes that bring the works of these two artists together, who also don’t shy away from delving into topics like mental health and sexuality.
Opening 1.9 at 17–19
Exhibition open: 1–17 September, Wednesdays to Saturdays 13.00-17.00
Saskia Gullstrand was born in 1989 and is a Swedish comics artist and teacher, whose stories are about love, sisterhood and violence. She currently lives and works in Malmö. Saskia will unlock her creative flow during the CUNE Comics-in-Residence Programme organised by the Finnish Comics Society in Helsinki from August to September 2021. In this exhibition we will see works from two of her comics. One Brings Sorrow, One Brings Joy is a story about a witch mother who comforts her child in the middle of a strange nightmare. The other comic, Jewels, consists of one page stories that deal with feelings in different situations.
Riina Tanskanen was born in 1998 and she is a Finnish comics artist known for her Stinky Girls (Tympeät tytöt) cartoons that she posts on her Instagram account. In addition, she also writes poems, prose and short stories. She set up the Stinky Girls art account on Instagram in April 2020 and it already has more than 24,000 followers. In her art works, Tanskanen addresses social and societal issues, amongst which those linking to our performance-oriented society, body image, appearance-related pressures, racism, sexism, sexuality, sexual violence and girl power. On her Instagram account, Tanskanen captions her art works with texts critical of society and experiences related to femininity. A comic book of Stinky Girls will be published in the summer of 2021.
The exhibition is part of the Helsinki Comics Festival 2021
Discover more about the Festival: www.sarjakuvafestivaalit.fi
Due to the changed restrictions in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Helsinki Comics Festival will be postponed and moved to Merikaapelihalli at Kaapelitehdas on 13–14 November 2021. Zine Fest’s sales event will also take place physically on the same premises. The transfer of the event is made in the hope that the pandemic situation and the upcoming corona passport will allow the festival to be celebrated in a safe and meaningful way.
The festival’s exhibition programme and other pre-programme will take place in August-September on the previously agreed schedule, if the corona restriction allow it. The festival will organize e.g. graphic novel readings and children’s comic workshops in co-operation with the central library Oodi, Itäkeskus library and Malmitalo.
Online programme will also take place in collaboration with Nordic Culture Point in Kaisaniemi.
