Silja Tusa is a visual artist from Tampere who primarily works with mixed-media collages made from recycled materials. They graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Culture and Arts from Tampere University of Applied Sciences. Since graduating, they have held several solo exhibitions, including at Hirvitalo – Pispala Center for Contemporary Art in Tampere and Taidetila Hoppa in Jyväskylä. Recurring themes in Tusa’s art include the fleeting nature of life and the beauty found in imperfection.
Mitä jäljelle jää (“What Remains”) is a series of mixed-media collages created from abandoned photographs. Through cutting, layering, scratching, and burning, Tusa transforms the original images into something more like memories—fading, fragmented, distorted by emotions, and altered in every possible way. The pieces retain the original 10×15 cm photo size, emphasizing their intimate nature. Tusa began the series in 2022, and the exhibition at Outsider Art Festival will feature works from 2023 to 2025.
Curators’ comments: “Silja Tusa’s stunning yet dark collages create a nightmare-like world inhabited by mysterious figures with distorted faces amid everyday situations. These works transport the viewer into an unprecedentedly strange realm that opens a new perspective on daily life.”
