Helsinki 2022 | This work brings together a collective of art-makers and photographers whose deeply felt concern for the recent events in Pirkkola forest (e.g. the clear-cutting of a wooded area next to the swimming hall, in prevision of the construction of a multifunctional sports hall) has led them to seek new and meaningful ways to connect with the woodland, and to pay their respects to what has been lost and the struggles – both human and non-human – that have taken place there.

Our individual contributions to this project are rooted in pre-existing interests and artistic practices: for instance, Jussi has collected bark from the site of the clear-cut – which once was a playground for his childhood – in order to make a skin-like armor; Eline has ventured into the world of departed trees, rock, and moss, and sought to uncover their hidden agencies through drawing and embroidery; Dominik evokes the virtues of grief and uses photography to document the cruel loss of habitat and ways of mourning; Leena wants to reveal the stumps of felled trees and allow them to feel the sun on their bark for one last time, and Janette has been questioning how the value of something is measured, in squares and cubics, while getting to know these two hectares as a place of multiple encounters and emotions.

We were compelled to create our own language of love and understanding (inspired by bell hooks’ thoughts on love as a practice of freedom), and to open a dialogue between us and the broken landscape of Pirkkola forest, drawing a parallel between the “invisible” communication system of trees and the silent cries for help embodied by the protest notes scattered around the site. We want to stop, honour, grief and witness.

Our aim was to collaborate with each other, with the site, and with other contributors (human and non-human) through non-hierarchical investigative methods. Moving away from the focus on the individual practice towards a constellation of practices, we will create a methodology that learns from and with the trees and moss of Pirkkola forest.

The exhibition acts as an archive of the area: its little stories, memories, inhabitants; a tribute to the activists and protesters who have defined the foundations of our practice; a time-capsule to a peculiar moment of fearing the inevitable destruction and feeling helpless in the face of it; and a pre-post-mortem that can act as an educational tool for future activists facing similar issues to the ones related to the case of Pirkkola forest. The outcome of this collaborative, long-term project is a reflection of our need to create a space dedicated to our shared sense of loss: a space for grieving, but also for caring, wondering, and above all, hoping.

During our exhibition AUKKO we had a wall with two of my photos from the Pirkkola Forest clear cuts. It was a wall of sorrow and pain. But people turned it into a wall of memories and imagination and suddenly trees were born again.

Leena Reittu: Sawdust, mixed with snow, fingertips meet the wounded bark

3:06 min