Jane as Jane, Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen 2026. Photo: Linda Lehtovirta
The exhibition features rugs by Hanna-Kaisa Korolainen, presenting familiar faces from Pre-Raphaelite paintings – but now they are covered in hair that resembles animal fur. Alongside the textile works, also ceramics exploring the same themes are on display.
The works crack the tradition of art, where both the model and the artist have clear roles. The power dynamics are omnipresent in art – who looks at whom, and how – but now the role of the model in the creative process is put under observation. The names of the artists who formed the brotherhood of Pre-Raphaelites live till today; their models were presented as passive, aesthetic and even anonymous objects under the gaze.
Pre-Raphaelites still affect present-day concepts of beauty. In the tradition of art, a human is hairless, and the pursuit for this smoothness very much prevails in today’s mainstream beauty standards. Hair exists between body’s interior and exterior, reaching outward from the self into the world. The philosopher Julia Kristeva's concept of the abject describes this condition: Between subject and object lies a space that is fascinating and alluring, but also unsettling. The furry rugs are both attractive and repellent as their wild hairs actively stretch toward the viewer.
William Morris, the multidisciplinary artist and designer associated with the Pre-Raphaelite circle, founded the Arts and Crafts movement, which championed high-quality craftsmanship over standardized industrial production. Korolainen's mechanically hand-tufted rugs, created using tools dating from the 1970s, are connected to the same tradition. The rugs are finished by brushing, which creates surfaces where image and materiality blend.
This summer, also works by Morris can be seen at the Didrichsen Art Museum.
The exhibition offers a glimpse on what’s to come in Korolainen's upcoming exhibition in Tokyo, Japan, scheduled for spring 2027.
Wild at Birth (Villinä syntynyt)
2–14 July 2026, Galleria Loisti
Vaasankatu 15, 00500 Helsinki, Finland
Vernissage: 2 July, 6–8 pm
Opening hours: Thu–Fri 2–6 pm, Sat–Sun 12–4 pm.