Working on my art, I often return to a certain thought: I hope people could see the beauty of bruises. I painted and sculpted 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.

I started to pay attention to the girls’ habit of showing off the derby kisses on the side of the pitch when I was training with my team, London Rollergirls Recreational League. The feminist spirit of the aggressive sport made a great impression to me, so I started to collect pictures from my friends. But these days women from all around the world keep on sending me photos of their bottoms.

In derby reality, the bruises are something to be proud of: true badges of honour, little love bites — derby kisses. An essential part of roller derby’s internet philosophy is sharing, because bruised bottoms are to be admired publicly. So although I am objectifying these women totally, I am doing it exactly in the way they objectify themselves.

I’d like to challenge the idea of beauty, and help people to search for it from unexpected places. Everyone’s skin reacts to a hit differently. The wounds are mesmerizing, like psychedelic mini galaxies that never fail to tell a story.

More info: riikkahyvonen.com

This bruise has 12 colours and is the size of my head!

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