Kaisa Eriksson
The last of their species
1.3. – 24.3.2019
The starting point for my exhibition was an attempt to depict transience in nature, to reproduce an extinct bird on paper using a piece of charcoal or an endangered plant by engraving it on a piece of sheet material. I needed technology to make the final works. The engraved images of plants appear as silhouettes with the help of controlled light and the images on paper have been made using a large format printer.
My theme is endangered plants and extinct birds in the Finnish nature. Currently there are 179 endangered vascular plants on the red list of Finnish species and 86 of them are under strict protection. I have engraved pictures of the latter on transparent sheets. The engravings are barely visible, but when lit up an accurate silhouette of a plant appears. The Shadow Herbarium installation consists of a few hundred plant drawings that are lit up by a moving beam of light that for a moment also highlights the endangered plants.
The history of botanical art is linked to human attempts to understand, structure and take control. Herbaria are a manifestation of the attempt to structure the surrounding world by creating collections and scientifically exact images. When looking at my black and white images of plants, it is clear that the diversity of nature cannot be reduced to an image on paper. There is also underlying concern about the future. Working with this installation has felt insane and calming at the same time.
I have reproduced extinct bird species by drawing them with charcoal based on photographs of the last individuals of their species. My aim was to copy the individual in question and then I have documented my work by photographing the drawing. Afterwards, I have wiped the drawing away. The final work is a digital collage that includes elements of the process.
I graduated from the Department of Printmaking at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts. In recent years I have mainly worked with drawings. My works are often installations that consist of many elements, light being one of them. Time, memory, oblivion and transience are recurring themes in my works.
The exhibition has been supported by Svenska kulturfonden and the Finnish Art Society.
Kaisa Eriksson
erikssonkaisa(at)gmail.com
