GROWTH FOLDER – Eero Yrjölä

The starting point of this exhibition was my lost childhood daycare folder. In daycare centers, “growth folders” are used to document a child’s personal development and growth during their formative years. These folders are created in collaboration with the children, incorporating drawings they have chosen and stories they have told.

My own growth folder was pink and adorned with princesses. I searched for it for years until the memory resurfaced. When I was eleven years old, I threw my folder away. I discarded the girl I had not been allowed to be for years.

This exhibition is about rediscovering that lost girl—her emotions, her growth—and making her visible once again.

Eero Yrjölä (b. 1990) is a visual artist based in Helsinki. His work explores experiences of gender, sexuality, and growth. Through deeply personal artworks, he brings forth painful yet insightful moments of a lost queer childhood. The exhibition conveys both shared joy and the experience of otherness in a touching way.

Yrjölä works across various mediums, particularly focusing on installation art. His work has been exhibited at venues including WAM – Turku City Art Museum, the gallery of the Finnish Institute in Stockholm, Galleria Huuto, and Titanik Gallery. His pieces are also part of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation’s art collection.

The Growth Folder exhibition has been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation and the Arts Promotion Centre Finland. The exhibition’s music was created by sound artist Hannu Seppälä.

Translated with ChatGPT