Cultural Center Valve is currently presenting Mari Jäälinoja’s solo exhibition Kirjoitettu kivi (Written Stone) in its Paljetti space.
In this new body of mixed-media paintings, the Oulu-based artist explores questions of identity, memory, and the profound human desire to be seen and accepted without conditions.
Taking its title from Eeva-Liisa Manner, Finnish literature’s great lyric poet’s, landmark 1966 poetry collection Kirjoitettu kivi, the exhibition reflects on how selfhood is shaped by personal experience, cultural norms, and the often unspoken expectations imposed by the surrounding world. Through a symbolic visual language that combines weathered surfaces with figurative forms, Jäälinoja invites viewers to contemplate vulnerability, otherness, and the possibility of reconciliation.
Alongside Manner’s poetry, the series has been inspired by William Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience and Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo – works united by a profound longing to be truly seen and accepted.
Mari Jäälinoja (b. 1983) is a painter, visual artist based in Oulu. Her mixed-media paintings explore themes of human vulnerability, identity, and the finitude of life. Characteristic of her work is the interplay between weathered, textured surfaces and figurative forms that emerge with an almost dreamlike and elusive presence. Jäälinoja’s artistic practice is grounded in a symbolic visual language through which personal experience opens onto broader existential questions. She made her debut in the Nuoret 2011 exhibition at Konsthalle Helsinki and has since worked as an independent visual artist. Her paintings have been exhibited in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Finland and internationally, and are included in both public and private collections. The current exhibition at Cultural Centre Valve’s Paljetti space is part of the official Oulu2026 European Capital of Culture programme and will be on view through 18 June 2026.
Mari Jäälinoja: Kirjoitettu kivi (Written Stone), 18.5-18.6.2026
Kulttuuritalo Valve/ Cultural Centre Valve, Hallituskatu 7, 90100 Oulu. Open Mon-Fri 9-21 and Sat-Sun 10-21. Free entrance.
Inquiries: Mari Jäälinoja, mari.jaalinoja@gmail.com
