Kaarina Kaikkonen is known for installations that are modest and monumental at the same time - their scale is lofty, but the materials down to earth. Most often she uses recycled materials, such as clothes or paper. The meaning of a piece can arise from the great number and anonymity of the clothes' former owners, such as in her jacket installations, or from the personal memories and emotions of the people who have used the objects. For instance, in her works with mother as their theme Kaikkonen has taken apart and reassembled objects belonging to her mother, such as shoes. On the other hand, the jackets, shirts and ties she uses are connected to Kaikkonen's deceased father, yet their sheer number steers associations towards crowds.

Kaikkonen's art transcends the disciplinary boundaries between painting, sculpture, installation and architecture. The interplay between the materials and the space builds up powerful and complex symbolic meanings in the works. Yet in spite of their profound complexity, Kaikkonen's works are very approachable. Their references range from personal fates of individuals to great social upheavals and natural disasters, from religion and philosophy to environment issues and everyday life. One of Kaikkonen's best known and most talked about works was Way, an installation made of old men's jackets on the steps of the Helsinki Cathedral in 2000.

With her original and uncompromising art, Kaarina Kaikkonen has become one of the foremost artists in Finland. She has held solo shows in many Finnish museums and galleries, and also attracted international attention in several group exhibitions and solo shows held in Brussels and Malmö, among other places. In 2003, Kaikkonen made a boat-like installation in an old church in Brighton, and the same year she made a huge installation in the Havana Biennale. Most recently, Kaikkonen's work has been seen in Helsinki at Artina Gallery this spring, and abroad at Art Basel in Miami 2004 and at Charlottenborg 2005 in Copenhagen. Kaikkonen has received an invitation to the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2006 in Japan.