In his art, Mika Karhu deals with human emotions – psychological phenomena – in connection with social structures, power and power relations, based on many years of studies in psychology, neurology, philosophy and political theory. A particular focus is on trauma, fear and vulnerability. In his gloomy ink paintings in shades of grey, black and white, the dark represents violence, depression, terror and what we (cannot) talk about; the light represents knowledge and hope.

Mika Karhu, born in 1969 in Joensuu, Karelia, Finland, studied fine arts and graphic arts at the North Karelia College of Art and Design, at the Institute of Printmaking at Lahti University, at the University of Art and Design Helsinki and received his doctorate in fine arts at Aalto University in Helsinki, where he now teaches art.