Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Always on display
Alien in Me – 20 Years of Saastamoinen Foundation Collection Exhibitions
Alien in Me explores experiences of alienation and otherness in a world undergoing constant transformation. The exhibition invites visitors to reflect on how our understanding of ourselves and our surroundings is formed, and how these processes can at times create distance between individuals. Feelings of estrangement may also emerge from within, shaped by experiences such as displacement, migration, or the transition from one environment to another.
Within the exhibition, alienation and the perspective of the outsider are approached as possibilities for reimagining the world and its structures. Boundaries once perceived as stable—between human and non-human, body and machine, gender identities, and cultural or linguistic belonging—appear increasingly fluid and interconnected. Central to the exhibition are encounters and relationships: our layered connections to cultures, landscapes, places, and technologies, as well as to other people, bodies, and non-human beings.
Curated by EMMA’s Director Krist Gruijthuijsen, this newly conceived exhibition from the Saastamoinen Foundation Art Collection forms part of EMMA’s 20th anniversary programme in 2026. It celebrates the longstanding collaboration between EMMA and the Saastamoinen Foundation, the museum’s founding partner. The presentation brings together recent acquisitions alongside earlier works from the collection, including several pieces exhibited publicly for the first time. In total, the exhibition features works by over 50 artists. The first EMMA-Saastamoinen Curatorial Fellow Shohreh Shakoory did research for the exhibition and wrote an essay published on EMMA Zone.
Artists
Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Olga Balema, Ericka Beckman, Louise Bourgeois, Sonia Boyce, Stefan Bremer, Benjamin de Burca & Bárbara Wagner, Alexandru Chira, John Coplans, Tony Cragg, Filippo de Pisis, Johanna Ehrnrooth, Antony Gormley, Kaisaleena Halinen, Lynn Hershman Leeson, Peter Hujar, Ismo Hölttö, Teija & Pekka Isorättyä, Chantal Joffe, Isaac Julien, Jan Kaila, Nnena Kalu, Dzamil Kamanger, Aimo Kanerva, Edward Kienholz, Jürgen Klauke, Ella Kruglyanskaya, Liisa Lounila, Lee Lozano, Leena Luostarinen, Ana Lupaș, Annette Messager, Boris Mikhailov, Arno Rafael Minkkinen, Sarah Morris, Paulina Ołowska, Meret Oppenheim, Wong Ping, Joanna Piotrowska, Josephine Pryde, Pors & Rao, Heli Rekula, Jani Ruscica, Gretta Sarfaty, Paul Mpagi Sepuya, Andres Serrano, Cindy Sherman, Dayanita Singh, P. Staff, Jenna Sutela & Gillian Wearing .
Exhibition Team
Curator: Krist Gruijthuijsen
EMMA-Saastamoinen Curatorial Fellow: Shohreh Shakoory
Project management: Laura Eweis, Emma Lilja, Katja Oijusluoma, Annika Räim
Graphic design: Kuudes
Exhibition architecture, technical design and construction: Kalle Jarva, Mikko Kaukonen, Miika Kyyrö, Lasse Lindfors, Olli Lukkari, Lasse Naukkarinen, Jari Rönkkö, Kari Siltala, Samppa Törmälehto
Lighting: Lasse Lindfors, Jenni Salovaara
Conservation: Saana Lopes, Marianne Miettinen, Saara Peisa, Henrietta Savonius
Framing: Seppo Laakkonen
Registration: Mereca Victorzon
Exhibition texts: Tero Hytönen, Emma Lilja, Pinja Rosenberg, Maya Syrjälä
Mobile guide: Tero Hytönen, Ilari Strandberg
Audience engagement and events program: Tero Hytönen, Reetta Kalajo, Pinja Rosenberg
Guided tour design: Riikka Alanko
Customer service design: Maija Eränen, Pekka Muinonen
Marketing and Communications: Iris Suomi, Helmi Tolonen
Photography and documentation: Ari Karttunen, Paula Virta
Service sales, visitor surveys: Essi Huhtanen
EMMA Shop: Salla Engström
EMMA customer service and guides
Translations: Mats Forsskåhl (swedish), Tomi Snellman (english)
With thanks to: Saastamoinen Foundation