Highly flammable, 2026

Wax, stearin, parafin, thread, recycled heat treated and patinated maple. balaclava, orange skin, plastic flowers

In recent years, I’ve been consuming media increased with militaristic imagery and rhetoric. The Finnish government has been in a hurry to increase budgets for new weapons systems, yet there is almost no discussion about what will happen to the old ones. In spring 2026, I had the opportunity to take a mold from a deactivated RK-62 assault rifle (which has been the standard service weapon since 1962), at the Reserve Officer School Museum. With the mold, I was able to cast candle replicas from the original rifle.

With these candles, I reflect on what will happen to Finnish RK-62 assault rifles as they are replaced by NATO-compatible models. The idea of melting them down warms me as a personal fantasy, but outdated weapon systems usually end up in storage or trade, where their later use and context remain open and ethically burning question marks. For the weapon rack, I combined traditional military design with the Nordic cottage-core aesthetic of old coat racks. Candles are everyday objects that are stored for crisis situations, such as power outages, or used for remembrance. They provide light and a feeling of safety in the darkness. Alternatively, they might burn your house down. Part of the installation was balaclava prop threaded with orange skin. This was to give mask to human suffering, transform my exhibition slot to storage room of tossed and forgotten. I’m familiar with this kind of immobilizing pain due to my severe eczema, which was also the reason I was discharged from military service. It causes dry seeping wounds, collapsed scars and infections on my face and body. Pain itself can become a mask that prevents the person from engaging with the others. Artwork was displayed in Turku AMK NYTT 2026 graduation exhibition.