During the residency in September, Vainio worked on a new project for her exhibition, which deals with people who once moved to Rauma as migrants. Like for many people in Rauma, the experiences of the war and the evacuees are also linked to her own family. 

Residency: September
Leena Vainio

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During the residency Vainio started working on a new project by interviewing, collecting material and sketching. The exhibition that will be shown later deals with people who once moved to Rauma as migrants. Like for many people in Rauma, the experiences of the war and the evacuees are also related to her own family. Because of the war in Ukraine, the topic has become a current issue. 

For the exhibition, Vainio makes installations, paintings and e.g. portraits of people who came to Rauma as migrants during the war. She is especially interested in people who worked at the Ammus Sytytin Oy factory. The factory employed many immigrants, such as her father's family who came to Rauma as an evacuee in the early 1940s. 

Vainio uses textiles and plant fibres in many of her works. Her work and techniques are often related to sewing and crafts, which are not only traditional women's work, but also the profession of her grandmother - a seamstress. Vainio prints, paints and embroider portraits on sheets. Among the first are a portrait of Vainio's father's mother and diary entries. The old white, frayed sheet is a fascinating material, like a shroud. The sheets have been painstakingly made, often capias. They have been used to sleep, to love, to get sick and to recover. They have been used for birth and death. Translated with DeepL.com (free version) 

The project will also include an installation made of plant fibers (linen and hemp), which is related to the products manufactured by the factory, and a video work.