Kaarina Kaikkonen’s new installation ’Cycle of Life’ in Uppsala, Sweden

Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen’s new large-scale installation, Cycle of Life, is now on view outside Cykelfabriken in Uppsala, Sweden.

 

The installation consists of hundreds of shirts donated by local residents. The material of the installation carries memories and stories of the shirts’ former owners. Cycle of life is located on the former site of Nymans Verkstäder, where bicycles were manufactured for many years. The installation takes its name from its circular forms, which evoke both bicycle wheels and the cycles of life. 

 

Kaarina Kaikkonen (b. 1952, Iisalmi, Finland) is internationally recognized for her large-scale installations in public spaces. She frequently works with clothing, particularly shirts and men's jackets. Her works draw on the personal histories associated with these everyday garments, transforming them into sculptural forms that speak of memory, human connection, and shared experience. One of her best-known works in Finland, The Way (2000), covered the steps of Helsinki Cathedral with thousands of men's suit jackets.

 

Kaikkonen’s works are held in several collections, including the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, Helsinki City Art Museum, and EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art. Her achievements have been recognized with numerous awards and honors. She received the National Visual Arts Prize in 1989 and the Finland Prize for the Arts in 2001. In 2013, she was appointed Knight, First Class, of the Order of the Lion of Finland, and in 2022, she received the Pro Finlandia Medal. Her international recognition includes the Public Prize at Den Haag Sculptuur in the Netherlands in 2004 and an Honorable Mention at the 11th Cairo Biennale in 2009.

 

The installation is on view  October 24–November 29, 2026.

November 3, 2026