Porin Art School Graduation Exhibition – Heikki Lappalainen, Anastassia Liimatta, Nina Rainti, Milla Saarenmaa, Liisa Vuorenpää

Liisa Vuorenpää (b. 1987)
My graduation project consists of a series of pencil drawings, paintings, and graphic works. Through my pieces, I dive into the world of a young woman and my search for self, using delicate and sensual lines. I am interested in the human ability to express oneself through facial expressions and gestures, and how they can be misunderstood. The goal is to find the real expressions behind my face through distorted, even grotesque, portraits.

Nina Rainti (b. 1973)
My installation “From the Mouth of the Wolf” speaks about my life, my relationship with nature, and symbolically with the wolf. The work can also be viewed independently from the wolf’s perspective. It depicts the female’s cyclical life cycle, the survival of the species, the birth of new life, and the adaptation to prevailing conditions. My works are figurative, and my material choices carry significant symbolic meaning, both personally and in terms of content.

Heikki Lappalainen (b. 1985)
What kind of person am I? What kind of world do I live in? What do “gender” and “natural” mean? My graduation project consists of a series of oil paintings in which I address the complexities and issues of being human. My works are figurative and representational, but their language is abstract; I do not make direct statements, but instead, I paint glimpses of my thoughts for the viewer to see — I reflect by painting.

Anastassia Liimatta (b. 1981)
My work is an installation that addresses the smuggling of dogs and puppy mills. I explore this topic through my own experiences from the perspective of a dog buyer. The central painting/sculpture of the dog and the Slavic-inspired space created around it imbue the work with strong symbolic and content-driven meanings.

Milla Saarenmaa (b. 1987)
My work consists of a series of oil paintings with nature as the subject and my relationship with it. I gain strength and peace from nature — these are the very qualities I have tried to capture in my paintings. I paint in thin layers on plywood, leaving parts of the beautiful surface exposed. I am fascinated by light and use strong contrasts of light and shadow, creating a surreal world within my pieces.

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