Finnish artist Iiu Susiraja, originally trained as a textile designer, is a photographer and filmmaker who captivates audiences with her provoking self-portraits that challenge societal norms by exploring the complexities of self-representation. Working primarily in her apartment in Turku, Susiraja carefully selects and stages objects that range from the familiar to the ludicrous, using her domestic stage as a playground for image-making. Balancing the fine line between intimacy and detachment, her photographs and videos expose her body in unsentimental yet vulnerable situations, questioning traditional notions on art, beauty and body image.
Through meticulously staged scenarios, Susiraja blurs the lines between portraiture and still life. In her serious yet playful approach to portraiture, the artist explores how the objects we interact with shape our stories and perceptions of self. Through whimsical juxtapositions and unexpected contexts, she dissects the narratives we construct through the items we don, remove, manipulate, ingest, conceal, or rebuke. Items like food or household objects become part of her visual language, bringing both whimsy and intrigue to her compositions and plots.
Susiraja's aesthetic challenges the prevailing sentimentality often associated with the body-positivity movement. Her work acknowledges the multifaceted experiences and emotions faced by individuals with nonconforming bodies, delving into the darker, more complicated aspects that arise when trying to navigate societal expectations and embrace self-love.
Iiu Susiraja (b. 1975 in Turku, Finland) earned an MFA from the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts in 2018. Her works have been included in numerous museum exhibitions, including Moma PS1, New York; SKMU Museum, Norway; KIASMA, Finland; VB Photographic Centre, Finland; Marburger Kunstverein; EMMA Museum, Finland; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, among others. Her work is part of public and private collections worldwide, including the Adam Lindemann Collection; the University of Chicago, Rubell Family Collection, the Finnish Museum of Photography; KIASMA Museum of Contemporary Art, Finnish National Gallery, among others. She is also a two-time recipient of the Artist Working Grant from the National Council for the Visual Arts, Finland. The artist lives and works in Turku, Finland.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2023 / Hot Stuff, Nino Mier Gallery, New York
2023 / A style called dead fish, MoMA PS1, New York
2022 / Object, Makasiini Contemporary Gallery, Turku, Finland 2022 / Women’s Work, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles
2020 / Dalmation, Ramiken Gallery, New York
2020 / Dry Joy, SKMU Museum, Kristiansand, Norway
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 / (Forthcoming) Nino Mier Gallery, New York
2023 / Snakes In The Grass, Newchild, Antwerp
2022 / Why Can’t We Live Together, Marburger Kunstverein, Marburg Germany
2021 / The Cake Show, Curated by Thea Smolinski, The Pit, Palm Springs
2021 / On The Level Or The Man Who Fell Out Of Bed, Krinzinger Schottenfeld, Vienna