Jarkko Salminen is an independent visual artist who works with pencils, markers, and ballpoint pens. Drawing was an important means of self-expression for him in his youth, and in recent years, he has rediscovered the joy of creating. Salminen also works as a social researcher focusing on mental health, and his thinking is deeply guided by the role of creativity in rehabilitation processes. He is inspired by the potential of outsider art to foster autonomous participation and open up avenues of influence from the “outside.” For Salminen, research and drawing are parallel ways of thinking and making sense of the world: in both, small observations and cautious outlines gradually grow into broader entities and bolder interpretations.
At the festival, Salminen presents his expansive drawing installation Sukupuu (Family Tree, 2025–2026), created by drawing both on paper and directly onto the wall. The artwork originates from cautious lines that gradually begin to form various textures and figures. These elements connect, intensify, and branch out, until the composition grows into a network of bold connections and lines that diverge and escape in different directions.
Curators’ comments: ”What is particularly fascinating about Salminen’s sprawling Sukupuu installation is its rhizomatic thinking. The forms, which grow and intertwine organically through repetitive movement and line, create a captivating viewing experience.”