NAME: Ilona Niemi
BIRTH PLACE: Piikkio, Finland
BIRTH DATE: 5.18.75
BIOGRAPHY
My childhood friend Piia disappeared without a trace at the age of fifteen in 1988. Her memory is the main generator behind my works, in which I construct an imaginary environment reminiscent of childhood play but with a grown-up, psychological twist.
Using traditional oil painting techniques, I depict faces of young women from my hometown in Finland, and surround them with candy-colors and rounded shapes. I select faces that remind me of Piia. Despite the initial impact of sweetness, my source materials are morbid: the biomorphic shapes are based on diatoms found in the bodies of drowning victims, and the colors are often abstracted from autopsy photographs. I hide the sinister beneath a sugary coating, mirroring the way in which child abuse often takes place behind closed doors.
I am inspired by psychology, toys, candies and 1960s design. My favorite artists are Yayoi Kusama and Helene Schjerfbeck, whose high work ethics and independent spirit I admire. I am also influenced by Hieronymus Bosch, contemporary Japanese art and Karen Kilimnik. More than anything else, literature is my main inspiration, especially the writings of Angela Carter, Anas Nin, Marguerite Duras, Eeva Kilpi and Virginia Woolf.
