Iiu Susiraja: No Piece of Cake
The internationally acclaimed Turku-based artist Iiu Susiraja is known for her startling photographs and videos that feature the artist herself in unexpected contexts.
Susiraja’s art features everyday objects that create the peculiar humour and surrealistic atmosphere in her works, which are then further reinforced by the insightful titles. No Piece of Cake features works from throughout the artist’s career, including brand new ones. In addition to photographs and videos, the diverse exhibition includes installations, drawings and sculptures, which the artist has expanded in recent years.
Works that stir emotions and debate
Susiraja herself does little to explain her works or open up the background to them. However, they stir up strong emotions and heated debate. In her works, she does things that can be considered strange or bad behaviour. When the person doing these things is a large woman, that bad behaviour seems to further contravene the norms of society. The artist has stated that her works are not based on a political or social message. She says, however, it is a good thing that they are thought-provoking, get people talking and help us to face up to our own prejudices, both about ourselves and about others.
From Turku to the world
Susiraja lives and works in Turku, and many of her works have been shot in her home. Her career as an artist began in 2007 when she took her first self-portraits. Susiraja graduated as BA (photography) from the Turku Arts Academy in 2012 and as Master of Fine Art/MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2018.
She is an internationally acclaimed artist whose works have been seen around the world. In spring 2023, Susiraja’s works were shown in New York at the PS1 gallery of MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) and at the Nino Mier Gallery, and in 2022 at the Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles. In recent years, Susiraja’s exhibitions have also been seen in the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in Helsinki in 2019, in the SKMU Museum in Kristiansand, Norway in 2020 and at Makasiini Contemporary in Turku in 2022.
Susiraja was awarded the William Thuring Prize in 2019 and the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Finland Prize in 2023. Her works are in the collections of the Finnish Museum of Photography, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the Helsinki City Art Museum and the City of Turku Art Collection.
The exhibition is accompanied by a publication presenting Iiu Susiraja’s work. Harri Laakso, Associate Professor of Photography Research at Aalto University has written an article on Susiraja’s work for the publication.
The exhibition is curated by Anna Franck, Exhibitions Curator at Museum Centre of Turku.
The exhibition is supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.