Maria Ylikoski – Archive silence

Visual artist Maria Ylikoski explores how everyday objects carry personal history and create connections to the past. Her works are based on the estate of her aunt, Ester Markkola, who worked as a house keeper for President Urho Kekkonen from 1952 to 1986. Ylikoski sees herself as an archivist who builds artworks from objects that are typically excluded from official archives.

At the Studio of Culture House Laikku Maria Ylikoski presents installations, photographic works, and a video piece. Materials used in the works include scarves, blouses, trousseau sheets, postcards, and lottery tickets among other things.

Ylikoski’s work raises questions about memory, historiography, and power:

Who is remembered? Whose life and experiences are preserved for future generations?

In history, women’s lives have often remained in the shadows. Official archives emphasize public, male-dominated activity. Ylikoski seeks a different perspective — an intimate, personal history — through letters, photographs, and objects. She builds an “unofficial archive” where the invisible becomes visible, and silent stories are told and heard.

Maria Ylikoski (b. 1966, Ikaalinen) earned her Master of Fine Arts degree from the Academy of Fine Arts in 2011. She has previously worked with video portraits and themes related to memory. Photography often serves as a starting point for her practice, although the final works may take the form of installations or moving images.

The Ester – Invisible project began in 2020 with the support of the Kone Foundation and is still ongoing. Works from the project have been exhibited in Helsinki, Tampere, and Ikaalinen. The exhibition and the artist’s work have been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, Arts Promotion Centre Finland, the Niilo Helander Foundation, Visek, the National Museum of Finland / Tamminiemi and the UKK Archive.

The studio exhibition is supported by the Finnish Heritage Agency.

Maria Ylikoski – Archive silence

1.11.2025 - 14.12.2025

Culture House Laikku / Studio (Keskustori 4, Tampere)

Open Tue–Fri 9am–8pm, Sat–Sun 10am–6pm

Fee admission

For more information about exhibitions at Culture House Laikku:

Irma Puttonen

Senior Coordinator

irma.puttonen@tampere.fi

050 553 8673

City of Tampere, Public Cultural Services