North State

During her time at Edinburgh College of Art, Lilja’s work changed in scale and subject matter, with early works representing playthings from her childhood and exploring surrealist aesthetics. Later her focus shifted to sparse compositions of cherished objects or iconic Finnish brands, as is evidenced in these two works which vividly depict a tin of Vitalis lip balm and a pack of North State cigarettes. In her writings about the works, Lilja explains that these items were almost exclusively associated with the working class in Finand, and in a personal twist, hidden among the branding text on the packaging is the artist's birth date.

University of Edinburgh, Art Collection: EU2963