Emotional archaeology
Maa Kuu is a Helsinki-based contemporary artist practicing emotional archaeology—a methodology that combines AI collaboration with personal history to create visceral visual work.
After two decades in the tech industry, he transitioned to visual art, developing an approach that excavates diary material and personal narrative through machine collaboration. His practice is grounded in the anti-hero's journey framework: Leave, Get Shattered, Can't Return, Create from Exile.
Working primarily with AI as a creative partner, Maa Kuu has developed a distinctive visual language that transforms intimate emotional material into contemporary art. His recent series demonstrate how technology can amplify rather than diminish authentic human expression.
The name Maa Kuu (Finnish for "Earth Moon") originates from his Second Life avatar, created in 2006. This digital identity became central to his artistic practice when he returned to creative work, representing the intersection of virtual community and authentic self-expression that characterizes his approach.
His work explores themes of exile, transformation, and the possibility of creating beauty from difficult experience. Rather than promising return or redemption, his art finds meaning in the creative act itself—making something vital from the fragments of a life that cannot be reassembled as it was.