Aino Simola & Marja Hepo-aho
DRESSING ROOM METAMORPHOSIS
4—28 June 2025
Open Wed—Sun 12—6 pm, closed durin Midsummer 20-22 June
Opening on Tuesday June 3rd at 6—8 pm
For Simola, this exhibition represents a personal transformation — a leap from the identity of a costume designer toward a more unbound form of expression. Her background as a milliner and her skill in working with textile materials are also evident in her glass art. Some of Simola’s glass-inclusive works have been blown into molds sculpted from felt. These molds burn away during the process, leaving a raw imprint on the surface of the glass. Collaboration with glass artist Marja Hepo-aho has opened the door to a new world of material experimentation for Simola.
Marja Hepo-aho is an artist and glassblower. She combines glass with other art forms such as dance, robotics, and fashion. In the Oksasenkatu 11 exhibition, Hepo-aho’s glass pieces serve as symbols of abundance and bliss. They lead the viewer into a space that evokes the existence of paradise.
The exhibition also features sound art by multidisciplinary artist Noora Kauppila, as sound, glass, and costumes come together in an installation created for the gallery basement. Simola designed the costumes as part of Kauppila’s Nostatus multidisciplinary performance project, which explores the sounds of pollinators and the tradition of incantations within the Finno-Ugrian tradition.
More information on the artists:
Aino Simola: www.ainosimola.com, IG: @inariaino, aino.simola@gmail.com
Marja Hepo-aho: https://mafka-alakoski.fi/pages/marja-hepo-aho, IG: @marjahepoaho
Noora Kauppila: www.noorakauppila.com, IG: @noorakauppila