Kallio, Mikko

There is always a playful aspect in my process of making art. I like to think about circus acrobats and magicians because for me they show an inspiring illusion that everything can be possible, you only have to dream it first.

A mask has a magical ability to transform but also hide subconscious worlds. I see the characters in my work as a kind of wanderers or vagabonds living in a limbo, which for me is a symbol of life in general.

I tend to see my figures as quite dynamic. Even when everything breaks into pieces, they never stop searching for new ways of looking at the world and finding answers in an often very complex reality. This also has to do with my way of building collages out of cut painted and drawn pieces of paper and finding abandoned objects to build them together into something precious, with new meanings.