MÄNTTÄ.- Serlachius is presenting Reflection of a Forest, the latest commissioned work of visual artist and film maker Eija-Liisa Ahtila. The work is an eight-channel installation in which the forest plays the central role. It is realised by means of an ecological narrative and based on the idea of the spatiality of being.


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In her work Reflection of a Forest, Eija-Liisa Ahtila continues to call into question the narrative of the moving image and human-centred perspective. She builds ways of representation and expression that can help to create a more balanced understanding of the living reality on the planet.

Ahtila and her team filmed the work over three years in various locations in southern Finland. The work doesn’t aim at creating a story in the traditional way. Its central theme is the spatiality of the forest: how diverse life intertwines in the forest space and forms a connection of existence.

Perspectives on ecological narrative

In recent years, Eija-Liisa Ahtila has produced several works on the relationship between human and nature.Serlachius has previously commissioned two works: Ecologies of Drama (2014) and Potentiality for Love (2018).

Ahtila says that since the work The Hour of Prayer (2005) she has been contemplating in her works what the ecological narrative of the moving image could be. Given the scope of the subject and the many possibilities, she has approached the theme from different perspectives.

“While producing one work during the process, new questions have emerged, which have then led to the following work. Reflection of a Forest is an attempt to bring ecological narrative issues together”, she says.

The artist has used appropriate working methods created along the way for the visualisation on and realisation of the work. The starting point was the filming in the locations chosen for the work. Visits to the locations then guided the process – writing, performing, shooting and the form of the installation. The work features different kinds of live performers and their fictional thinking and speech.

“In some places, we filmed in consecutive years, and in some scenes, I inserted the history of the location into the dialogue”, says Ahtila.

A world bigger than humanity

Having grown up near the Finnish forest, Eija-Liisa Ahtila has learned the importance of the coexistence of all living beings for our planet. She has, in various contexts, expressed her concern about the state of the planet: climate change and loss of biodiversity.

“The emergency state of the living environment affects our choices, ways of thinking and perception as well as the role of culture and art in society”, she says, wanting to believe that art can help influence people’s thoughts and opinions.

“For me it can, and I’m sure this goes for many others. After all, it is self-evident and should be understood as such that art is an integral part of human life.”

Reflection of a Forest is on display at Serlachius until 27 April 2025. Duration of the artwork is 50 minutes.

Eija-Liisa Ahtila (b. 1959) is internationally Finland’s most renowned contemporary artist. She is recognized as a key figure in creating multi-channel moving image installations focusing on the border between film and video art. In an original way, she has understood the potential of moving images as a tool for art.

Eija-Liisa Ahtila has had dozens of solo exhibitions in major museums in various countries (eg. MoMA in New York and Tate Modern in London). She has also participated in major contemporary biennales around the world (eg. Venice, Sao Paulo, Sydney and Documenta in Kassel).

Eija-Liisa Ahtila has received numerous recognitions for her work as an artist. In 2009, she was named an academician of art at the age of just 49. She has been awarded, among others, as Commander, First Class, of the Order of the White Rose of Finland in 2020, the Pro Finlandia Medal in 2005, the Artes Mundi Prize in 2006 and Vincent Van Gogh Award for Contemporary Art in Europe in 2000, and Honorary Mention, 48th Venice Biennale, Italy in 1999.

She has also received several film awards, and has been a Golden Lion jyry member at Venice International Film Festival in 2011. She has also received The Honorary Doctorate of Media Arts from Ionian University, Greece in 2019, and from Aalto University of Applied Arts, Finland in 2018.


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