Reika Vesala

2023

20 cm x 20 cm x 19 cmWool yarn

When you make the temari-ball embroidery, you must know where are the North Pole, the South Pole, and the Equator in the ball. Embroidery happens as if you were traveling around the earth. In this wrt work, the temari-technique is combined with the Finnish traditional wool yarn craft ball technique, so I made stripes as its pattern instead of geometrical embroidery. Both techniques are similar in any case.I’ve traveled on the earth as many times as balls in the artwork. There are beautiful places in nature, different people, different languages, life, culture, etc. There are also wars, sorrows, famine, disease, catastrophe, climate issues, etc. Although there are as many balls as I traveled, the truth is that there is only one earth. Just one earth to hold joys and sorrows. Also, I look at the earth as if from space or I traveled in a different timeline.The red and white stripes mean good luck in Japan.

InstallaatioKäsityö

2022

25 m x 15 mDry Twig, Textiles

2019

PerformanceKobe, Japan

2020

InstallationKnitting fabric, balloons

The natural human body shape has been unfashionablethroughout fashion history. Both female and male bodieshave been reshaped: breasts and bottom were lifted, legswere straightened by pressing the trousers, feet were forced toget small by tying up them, etc. Nowadays it is possible toshape the body with silicon from the inside. We choose clothes to fakethe unsatisfying body parts. This is my wild version of thebody shaping.