Hanna Kanto, Mari Mäkiö, Anssi Jokiranta ja Anna Ruohonen: Borderlands

Borderlands (Erämään rajat) is a group exhibition that invites viewers to search for wilderness. The exhibition features works from Mari Mäkiö and a collaborative group (Jani Hietanen, Jouni Mitjanen and Marko Tandefelt), Anssi Jokiranta and Anna Ruohonen, and Hanna Kanto. Employing a wide range of contemporary art techniques, the exhibition explores what the Finnish wilderness might look like in 2027.

The Finnish word “erä”
In Finnish, the word erä refers to a share or portion. At the same time, it reflects a familiar Finnish relationship with nature: the forest as a source of food and materials. The exhibition is inspired by duality and contradiction embedded in the concept of erämaa (wilderness). Erämaa refers both to untouched nature and to a relationship of use and dependence between humans and the natural world.

The artists

Anssi Jokiranta and Anna Ruohonen travelled in wilderness areas in the 2000s, but instead of finding an untouched, pristine landscape free of human presence, they encountered stories about such a place. Jokiranta’s wet plate landscape photographs and Ruohonen’s travel diary entries reflect on what we imagine wilderness to be, and what role it plays today.

Hanna Kanto explores forest insects and plants in her paintings and sculptures. In her earlier work, she investigated human practices of extraction in relation to nature.

Mari Mäkiö and her working group (Jani Hietanen, Jouni Mitjanen ja Marko Tandefelt) present a sound installation that explores the co-existence of humans and bark beetles. The bark beetle is a forest inhabitant that is almost invisible to the human eye. The group brings the sounds and traces of bark beetles into the exhibition space. Spruce bark beetle (latin Ips typographus) is considered a pest among Finnish foresters.

The exhibition opening will be held in conjunction with Kalevan Navetta’s Afterwork Art event on March 5, 2027.