Ninni Karjalainen (b. 1992) bases her artistic practice on representing the female body. Her examination of womanhood and femininity seeks to subvert the prevailing male gaze, presenting her subject matter from a distinctly female perspective. She constructs her visual language in collaboration with women. Depicting form and anatomy, technical aspects that arise from the domain of classical art training, are also important to her practice.
Originating from Kuusankoski, Finland, Karjalainen holds a Master of Arts in Cultural Studies. At the University of Helsinki, she examined mainly media and visual culture, focusing on representations and their cultural implications. Besides Finland, she has studied in the Netherlands and Brazil, and most recently, she was in Spain for an artist-in-residence program. Karjalainen is a member of Kouvolan taiteilijaseura KOUTA ry (Association of visual artists working in Kouvola).
Complementing her academic objectives, Karjalainen studied at the Repin Institute in Kotka, where she learnt the fundamentals of classical drawing and painting. She continued her education at the Kouvola Vocational Institute Eduko, where she studied in the program of Media and Visual Communications. Karjalainen’s diverse education has provided her with a profound understanding of various aspects of visual culture, effectively combining strong conceptual thinking skills with sharp technical skills.
Ninni Karjalainen 