Photographing the changing forests and mire landscapes of Southern Finland, Terhi Asumaniemi examines our relationship with nature and how it is shaped by the cultural attitudes of the times and the moral and spiritual connections humans have with the environment. As forest industry has expanded in Finland, the forests of the artist’s childhood look different and mysterious to her now. Her poetic landscapes delve deeply into the interwoven relationship of humans and their environment.
“My own roots are in the rugged deep forests of Southern Finland,” says Asumaniemi. “According to research and oral tradition this area was in olden times inhabited by a mythical, indigenous people, which has been characterized as ’the Sami people’ of the South. This vanished folk lived in the wooded areas up to the start of the modern age eventually blending into the main population. These days there is dispute about their real origin (about who they really were), however, they still live on in stories and legends.”
“In my work I follow old stories deep into the forest where the real landscapes meet the way others describe, comprehend, and interpret their life-worlds resulting in various states of mind,” continues Asumaniemi. “The creatures of the forest show themselves in the relight, the ancient sea washes the rocks of the water spirits and the wanderer is lead to the expansive mire landscapes by those who watch over the deer.”