Myrtillius Kauria is a self-taught artist from Helsinki who works with rya tapestries, clay and animation. At the festival Kauria will exhibit works from his newest collection called Moderni orjuus (Modern Slavery), which is a small glimpse into the reality of a young Finnish person working different short-term jobs under precarious conditions. The collection collides clay figures – who portray tired, twisted characters who are too tired to stand up from working – with rya rugs that convey the world around them.
Kauria makes rya rugs into sackcloth by binding by hand. She doesn’t depict traditional subjects, but instead social issues, especially poor and marginalized people and their everyday life. Despite their grim subject matter, the works are hilarious and the characters are slightly absurd. Kauria is interested in exploring the aesthetics of caricature in textile art.
Curators comments: “Absurd humour, awareness of social issues and warm empathy all walk hand in hand in Myrtillius Kauria’s works. The works of Kauria are frantically funny and positively mental. The aesthetics of cartoons and the use of traditional rya rugs as the medium really allow the works to take off.”
