Childhood hiding places often disappear from the landscape, but their significance can remain in the human mind for decades. MURRR!, an artist team by Ulla Phillips and Jenni Valtakari, creates murals and installations using traditional techniques. Now they bring the childhood memories of nine women to life through art.
The works will be on display throughout the summer at Taidetalo Katve in Kalajoki, until they disappear in the autumn when the building is demolished. The art project is part of the European Capital of Culture Oulu2026 programme, and it has received support from the Oulu Culture Foundation and the City of Kalajoki.
Each work in the exhibition is based on the memory of one woman or girl. Fiberwood’s wood fibre board is used in the work Salmen Suoja (Salme’s Shelter), which is based on a childhood memory of 65-year-old Kalajoki resident Salme Koivusipilä. The memory is of a hiding place built beneath the root system of a fallen tree. It was a safe and sheltered space where imagination could grow in peace.
“What is interesting is how personal memories often contain something very universal. Many people also recognize their own experiences in them,” says designer and clay builder Ulla Phillips.
The works are part of an exhibition titled Yhdeksän (nine), which is being created in a building scheduled for demolition in the centre of Kalajoki. The building will be demolished in autumn 2026, but before that, its walls will be filled with artworks made using clay plaster.
The artist team behind the project, MURRR!, is known for its ecological way of working. The works use materials such as local clay, sand, fibres and recycled materials. Fiberwood’s material also comes from production side streams.
The disappearing building is an essential part of the exhibition.
“What happens to memories when places disappear? Buildings hold people’s lives, experiences and stories. With art in buildings set for demolition, we want to pause for a moment and draw attention to them,” Phillips describes.
According to the artist team, the choice of materials is a deliberate statement.
“The construction industry is constantly developing new solutions, but they often remain hidden inside structures. In public art, materials become visible. Art can make change visible when it would otherwise remain hidden,” Phillips reflects.
This idea also resonates with Fiberwood’s goals. The company develops wood- and natural-fibre-based materials to replace fossil-based and high-emission solutions in construction.
The art exhibition demonstrates how widely the possibilities of natural materials can extend.
“Wood and clay share a history of thousands of years in construction. With industrialisation, many natural materials were pushed aside, but now interest in them is growing again. It is wonderful to see the same development taking place both in engineering and in art,” says Jenni Valtakari, the other member of the artist team, who works as a building restorer and clay builder.
When Taidetalo Katve is demolished in the autumn, the works in the exhibition will also disappear. What remains are memories, photographs and experiences.
Perhaps that is precisely why the message of the exhibition feels timely. Not everything that is built is permanent. Not everything valuable remains. Even so, it can have significance for a long time.
The exhibition Nine is on display at Taidetalo Katve, Kalajoentie 12, Kalajoki, Finland, from 27 June to 22 August 2026.
