Closing Borders

Closing Borders is an exhibition publication created in connection to an exhibition by the same name shown at Serlachius Museum Gösta.

Europe is currently barricading not only its external borders but also its borders within the continent. Concertina wire with its slashing blades is becoming a symbol of our age.

In 2016, artist Riiko Sakkinen and Pauli Sivonen, director of the Serlachius Museums, toured the outer borders of Europe. They visited Spanish cities in North Africa, the Greek archipelago, the Balkan route taken by migrants, and finally the destroyed refugee camps in France. The artworks and texts of Closing Borders and the art exhibition by the same name were created from these experiences.

Riiko Sakkinen´s multi-layered provocative works contain references to history and the problems of society: racism, increasing inequality and the structural failings of our society. The artist considers how xenophobia is changing all of us and the kind of Europe in which he would like to live.

Authors: Riiko Sakkinen and Pauli Sivonen
Layout: Timo Jaakola
Print house: Bookwell Oy, Porvoo 2017
Publisher: Parvs Publishing Ltd
200 pages
Serlachius Museums’ Publications 42
ISBN 978-952-7226-04-9