Minna Parkkinen: HYMYTYTTÖ 6.3.-30.3.

The exhibition works, including a short film and concrete and plaster reliefs, explore the experience of childhood sexual violence and its long-lasting effects into adulthood.
The works give voice to the experiences of women and men who have silently carried the weight of trauma throughout their lives.

Originating from the themes of the film, the three-dimensional pieces use concrete and plaster to express the embodied nature of trauma — its frozen state — and the fractured sense of self hidden behind a mask, alongside the shame and guilt that has been unjustly passed onto the victim.
The weight of the concrete resonates with the heaviness of these experiences and the difficult process of working through them, ultimately strengthening the structures of the self and survival.

In the wordless film Hymytyttö (Smiling Girl), beautiful frosty images conceal a harrowing story of past trauma and childhood sexual violence. The “Hymypatsas” — a traditional award given to the kindest and most well-behaved children in school — transforms into a symbol of something far darker. Unspeakable emotions are conveyed not through words but through a hummed melody, as snow and ice melt into flowing water, and wings begin to carry.
(Inari Ylinen, DocPoint Festival, 2025)

Minna Parkkinen is a visual artist and filmmaker based in Turku, Finland. She has studied experimental cinema through additional studies in Spain and the United States. Parkkinen translates her films into material, three-dimensional forms to deepen the thematic expression.
Her films have been screened at dozens of international festivals, including Ann Arbor Film Festival and IFFR, and exhibited not only in Finland but also in Brazil and South Korea.

Thanks to the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, Kone Foundation, Finnsementti Oy, Kosken Betonielementti Oy, Markku Ojala, and Jöötti ry for supporting the exhibition. Thanks also to Taike, Avek, Visek, Ses, and Jaana Parkkinen for supporting the film.