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A post shared by Riikka Hyvönen (@riikka.hyvonen) on Mar 23, 2020 at 4:43am PDT

Ooof, those are some real doozies! Now, don’t be worried. These bruises aren’t from something bad, in fact, each purplish-blue peacock feather-like bruise is considered a badge of honor. They are “Roller Derby Kisses” . These larger than life, sparkly, candy-colored 3D paintings are the work of Finland born, London based artist Riikka Hyvönen. Here’s her story behind this ongoing series:

“… For me, roller derby is really all about the community, and the mesmerising subculture that has sprung from it. If a derby player gets hit in the game, she wants to show her bruised bum for her team members on the side of the track (and then reach some well-deserved admiration on the internet). These bruises are called derby kisses — kisses from derby. They are little love bites and badges of honour.

Each of my gigantic 3D artworks is based on a real photograph. ”I have a really beautiful bruise on my bum. Do you want to see a pic?” A friend once posted on my FB wall. ”It has 12 colors and is the size of my head.” I said yes, I definitely want to have a look. She sent it to my inbox. It turned out to be at least as impressive as she had threatened. In the end, this comment of hers also became the name of the work.

These days, derby girls from around the world send me photos of their trophies. I am deeply honoured to be able to turn some of them into art.

Recreating a derby kiss, I use wood, MDF, leather, glitter, and various tools from paintbrushes to jigsaw pieces. I need to break the surface of the leather, then paint it, then break it and paint it again — and repeat the process dozens of times in order to create a picture, as hypnotising on canvas as on the skin.

Through making artworks of large scale, with a remarkable amount of sparkle, glitter and colour, I objectify the girls completely, but in the same way as they objectify themselves. With the kitsch, tacky, thoroughly questionable elegance, my aim is to capture the unapologetic representation of beauty that roller derby is all about.” 

Unapologetic representation of beauty… LOVE! I included a few shots and that video so you could see how she does what she does. A few of Riikka’s bums are currently part of a FABULOUS group show, titled “Strange Delights” happening at Paradigm Gallery {Philadelphia} until May 16, 2020.

{discovered via Create Magazine}