11.-14.9.2025 in Studio BOM

“The exhibition examines spiritual phenomena in time, and takes visitors to the spiritual and experiential dimensions of design. The exhibition is a 4-day performance that nourishes the soul and body.”

“Very personal” dresses are for both my dead and living self. They were originally designed for an exhibition on typography (TypoCraftHelsinki2017), as a reflection on the meaning of text in clothing. I have always contemplated death a great deal—not only now as I am older, but already in my thirties, newly graduated. I am hasty, fast, impatient; I rush ahead of things and try to make acquaintance with what lies ahead, perhaps to avoid surprises or to be prepared.

The death garment is cotton-linen, its colors neutral, and woven into it are my birth date and place, with the day of death left open. The fabrics were woven at the TextielLab of the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, a renowned center for textile design and innovation in the Netherlands. Projects there are submitted for consideration, and if accepted, the designer is invited to the laboratory to realize their work with the assistance of master technicians.

In Tilburg, the fabric was finished in record time, and the master technician asked me what I wanted to do with the remaining time. More than half of it was still left :). I improvised the Still Alive fabric by picking leftover threads from other projects in the lab’s storage and swapping them by hand while standing next to the loom. Alongside the words Still Alive, I added the word Servant to be placed over the chest, because I have always felt that serving is my life’s calling.

On the soul:
Intuition has always been my most important tool. A feeling or instinct guides my work. I cannot say where it comes from, but to go against it feels wrong. Dreams carry great meaning. Especially in hands-on making, decisions seem to arrive like guidance. Surely, some of it also comes from knowledge gained through experience. I believe the process is visible in the outcome. Perhaps that is what forms the soul of an object or a thing.

photo Katri Kapanen