A New Work by Kholod Hawash at the Kirpilä Art Collection

At the Kirpilä Art Collection, a new work by textile artist Kholod Hawash (b. 1977) is on view. Shy Sun also serves as a protective cover for Maria Wiik’s work Thistles (1898).

Wiik’s pastel and gouache piece was the first artwork Juhani Kirpilä acquired with his own funds at the age of 23. It is displayed in the museum’s Grand Salon, but as a work on paper and sensitive to light, it requires special protection. For this purpose, a dedicated protective cover has been created. When the museum is closed, the cover safeguards the original work; during opening hours, Shy Sun is presented as an independent artwork.

Born in Iraq and now working in Finland, Hawash moved to Finland in 2019 through the Artists at Risk network. Her practice draws in part on textile traditions she learned in childhood. Initially inspired by Mesopotamian cultural heritage, her artistic expression has since developed in a more personal direction—more symbolic than autobiographical.

Hawash works with recycled materials and employs the traditional jodaleia patchwork technique, in which pieces of fabric are sewn together by hand. Her works address themes such as women’s social position and questions of independence.

Hawash’s work has been exhibited, among other venues, in the ARS22 exhibition at Kiasma in 2022 and at the Venice Biennale in 2024 as part of the Nordic Pavilion. Her works are included in the collections of Kiasma, the Saastamoinen Foundation, and HAM, among others.

Welcome to discover the work.

Kholod Hawash, Shy Sun, 2026
Photo: Jussi Tiainen