Saara Ekström

The Finnish artist Saara Ekström (born 1965) graduated from Turku Drawing School in 1986 and studied photography in Northern Arizona University 1995-96. Her work has recently been exhibited in Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Musea da Republica in Rio de Janeiro and GEM – The Hague Museum of Contemporary Art. She has worked as an artist-in-residence in Japan, New York and Rome.

Saara Ekström is known for her unprejudiced material use. She uses mainly organic materials that are rich in controversial meanings and symbolism. Her works often deal with the dualistic, major themes of life: death, birth, growth and withering, beauty and disgust. The choice of material of certain characteristics, natural processes and behavior plays a crucial part in the construction of further meanings in her art.