Textile Art Reflects Knowledge at Galleria Aski

RIIKKA KUPSALA: CONSUMING CLOTHES 12.-23.9.2025

Textile works by Turku-based visual artist Riikka Kupsala explore personal knowledge related to clothing and their usage. The works will be on display in the exhibition Consuming Clothes at Galleria Aski from September 12th to 23rd, 2025.

Consuming Clothes consists of tapestries and other textile pieces Kupsala has created from her own used garments and recycled fabrics.

“I have been preserving my discarded accessories, shoes and clothes from the last 10 years. They have accumulated a total of 301 articles weighing 44.8 kg. Now these clothes provide the theme and material for my exhibition,” Kupsala explains.

The textile works visualize knowledge both visually and physically. In interactive installations, visitors can lift bar charts to physically feel, for example, how much petroleum-based material is used in clothing.

For the Galleria Aski exhibition, Kupsala compiled data from her garments regarding different phases of a garment’s life cycle — from production to disposal. She collected information from care labels and her own memory. Additionally, she weighed each item and assessed them through sensory evaluation and online research. The works are based on this compiled data. In some pieces, personal data is combined with researched information.

Kupsala’s process has been driven by a curiosity to understand how she consumes clothing — and what, in turn, the clothes consume.

“Through art, I aim to explore how I am connected to the sustainability issues of the globally dispersed textile industry. A personal perspective offers visitors a point of entry to reflect on their own relationship with the topic,” says Kupsala.

Consuming Clothes continues Kupsala’s previous artistic work and marks her fifth solo exhibition. The works on display were made possible by a one-year working grant awarded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation in 2024.

Riikka Kupsala (b. 1981) works at a studio in the Art House Turku.  Her primary media is textile and video. She graduated as a visual artist from the Arts Academy at Turku University of Applied Sciences in 2017 and has since worked as an independent artist in Turku.

Welcome to the opening on Thursday, September 11, from 5 to 7 PM!

An artist talk will take place on Sunday, September 21, from 4 to 6 PM. Welcome!

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Contact information
Riikka Kupsala, visual artist / 0407346970 / riikka@kupsala.net

Galleria Aski / info@galleriaaski.com