Through the medium of jewelry, a museum exhibition is examining the lives of women who have immigrated to Finland.
At the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewelry Kruunu, the 46 pieces on display in “Minun Maailmani II” — in English, “My World II” — are the result of collaborations between Finnish goldsmiths and designers and 16 women who came to Finland from countries such as Nepal, Kenya, Brazil and England. It is scheduled to run through April 27 and is the second in the “My World” series. The first, in 2022, matched jewelry makers with disabled residents of Finland.
One of the new exhibits is a parure, or set, of matching jewelry, in amber, silver and 14-karat gold. It was designed by Kaisa Vuorinen, a goldsmith, and Ita Petrika-Lindroos, who moved to Finland from Latvia in 2009.
The design of each piece features multiple strips of silver or gold wrapped around an amber bead, which, Ms. Vuorinen wrote in an email, symbolized the teachers and family members who had supported Ms. Petrika-Lindroos as she studied Finnish — a famously difficult language to learn — and worked as a cleaner and a waitress. She now has a career in human resources and, in 2022, earned a master’s degree in business administration.
“I’ve felt exhaustion, fear, and uncertainty,” Ms. Petrika-Lindroos wrote in a note that visitors to the exhibition may access through a QR code. “But what has given me strength is the feeling that I am in the right place, surrounded by people who care about me.”
Another exhibit is a set of cuff bracelets created by Inni Parnanen, an artist and designer in Helsinki, and Cleibe Tommila, who emigrated from Brazil in 1999. Crafted from plywood, ink and wax, the bracelets have the gray and translucent look that envelops the country during its long winters, a season that both women have found challenging.
“During our discussions, I realized having multiple similarities with her even though our cultural backgrounds are different,” Ms. Parnanen wrote in an email. “Her journey crossed mine.”
Ms. Tommila’s exhibition notes said that she valued many aspects of Finnish life, but that she had experienced discrimination in work settings stemming from her age and background, and that she felt that Finland “would be a better place to live if there was more tolerance and inclusiveness towards diversity.”
Essi Pullinen, the museum’s director, said it had recruited the women through Vaestoliitto, a family planning and support organization, and randomly paired them with the jewelry makers. She said the global #MeToo movement had inspired her to create the exhibition series: “Inclusion, participation and equality are very important issues to us and generally to museums today.”
However, it has been staged as the Finnish authorities are tightening immigration laws yet also expressing concerns about attracting and retaining talented and skilled workers from abroad. A recent survey of foreign workers in 53 countries placed the country last in career prospects.
Most of the women, many of whom held university degrees and left thriving careers to come to Finland, wrote in their exhibition notes that they valued the country’s serenity, safety and stability. But several described feelings of isolation, loneliness and depression. And some expressed frustration that, despite learning Finnish, they had received few responses to, in some cases, hundreds of job applications.
Some, however, talked about their move in different terms. Bahar Mozaffari, who left Iran to escape persecution as a women’s rights activist, and Susana Corneh, a jewelry designer, worked on the design of a silver and gold-plated necklace with a pendant that had been set with a garnet star.
“Whether it’s shared meals, trips into nature, or cozy evenings at home, every moment is filled with love and a sense of belonging,” she wrote in her exhibition notes of her life in Finland, adding that such moments reminded her of “why she has chosen her path and what truly matters in life.”
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