Riikka Hyvönen is an artist from Finland, but is currently based in London. Hyvönen’s most recent exhibition is entitled “Roller Derby Kisses,” and currently on display at the Finnish Institute in London until August 20th.

This exhibit features giant paintings of bruises, or ‘kisses’ as the artist describes them, on roller derby girls. In an interview with the Finnish Institute, Hyvönen stated that, “I painted the bums to capture momentary marks that are seen in a completely different light in the mainstream than inside the subculture of roller derby girls.” Hyvönen also claims that she wanted the viewers to see the beauty in bruises.

Personally, I really enjoyed this piece, because I find bruises to be strangely beautiful. In this context, they almost resemble “battle scars” for the derby girls, small discolorations that remind them of victory or defeat. Bruises allow them to show others their hard work, and proudly wear it on their skin.

Hyvönen does have a website here, with her contact information. In addition, follow her on Twitter to stay updated.

Note: all images were found here. 

Maryam Ashkanian is an artist of Iranian decent who I recently discovered through Tumblr. Her 'Sleep Series' is a sculptural collection featuring what appears to be pillows and embroidery. Ashkanian's website features more of her work, and you can follow her on Twitter for updates. 

I see it as a reflection of what we're like as we sleep, the impressions we leave in our pillows, the way we unconsciously move through the night, and ultimately a subtle reminder that there's plenty we don't remember/aren't present for throughout our lives. 

Note: These lovely photos are definitely not our own and were grabbed from Ashkanian's website

I was recently introduced to Redbubble by a friend of mine (shoutout to you Madison.) It's an online marketplace for print on demand products. This means it hosts artwork from thousands (and thousands) of submissions. Similar to Society6, you can purchase anything from posters, stickers, greeting cards, apparel, decor, canvas wall art, and even phone cases. The site has something for literally everyone, and I highly suggest taking a look around. 

Some of my favorite shops include tanyabond, ssananikone, whaili0531, emilybrinkley, papertigressart, and jennyfontana, but I highly suggest just searching around and looking at what's trending. 

Personally I love the postcard prints as cheap wall art, and the stickers are super fun for laptops, water bottles, notebooks, cars, etc. For my birthday, Anna shipped me a 'cats against cat calls' tank top (which I absolutely adore by the way.) Redbubble had wrapped it really nicely and it came out lovely, but there was a bit of a chemical smell so I suggest washing before wear. 

Plus, if you buy more than 6 stickers, they all get reduced to half price, and similar deals apply to greeting cards and postcards.