SHEIKKI: High on Culture, October 4th, 2023 – January 11th, 2024

Sheikki is Jarkko Pajari, an artist from Espoo, who is known especially for the High on Life art project made in 2020, where a demolished apartment building owned by the city of Kerava was turned into an art exhibition.
“The High on Culture exhibition is a glimpse of where I got my biggest influences from, how I feel about myself and how I want the world to appear to me. I am mostly a product of popular culture.”

“I already had a passion for woodworking and drawing at a young age. My grandfather had his own workshop in an old barn building, where I could watch him working. In his footsteps, I trained myself as a wood craftsman. Traditional woodwork didn’t appeal to me, and I leaned more towards envisioning something more artistic. At school, I always liked photography and technical sloyd classes. Nothing else was that interesting. I remember when my father was a substitute teacher in our kindergarten, and he drew pictures according to our wishes. I also remember my uncle’s drawings of the old-style North American cars. All of this is a basis for the direction in which my own interests have leaned. I have always been a bit rebellious; I’m used to doing things in my own style. I lose my temper easily if things don’t go the way I hoped.”

“Skateboarding immediately made a big impression on me and opened my eyes to the fact that hobbies can be free form. The whole skateboarding culture has played a big role in what kind of person I have been shaped. I don’t really get as much pleasure from anything anymore than seeing my own handprint. I feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster, sometimes I fail and it feels like everything is falling over but success feels even better then. I am on an endless journey to learn and try new things. I hope to leave my mark.”

@kingsheikki