6.2.—1.3.2026, Galleria G

Skeletal Earths, Afterlife Waters brings together material produced during two residency periods. The exhibition continues Harriina Räinä’s long-term project, in which she examines oysters as part of ecological and human-shaped processes, as well as the material afterlife of their shells.

In Scotland, Harriina worked with calcium carbonate–rich oyster shells, using them in ceramic glazes and in sculptures designed to fertilise soil. In New York, she participated in oyster reef restoration and produced cyanotype prints in field conditions. The exhibition examines oysters both as organisms that shape their environment and as historical and cultural material archives. Biological, industrial, and conceptual dimensions intersect, and the boundary between life and death becomes blurred.

The residency periods in Scotland (Cove Park and Scottish Sculpture Workshop, June–September 2025) and in New York (Triangle Arts Association, October–December 2025) were supported by the Saastamoinen Foundation, the Academy of Fine Arts of the University of the Arts Helsinki, the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and the Finnish Cultural Institute in New York. Harriina would also like to thank the Billion Oyster Project, Loch Fyne Oysters, and all those with whom she engaged in conversations during the project.

The following texts provide background to the working process leading to the exhibition:
– Soil, Shells and the People Around Them
https://www.ssw.org.uk/ecologies-in-the-making-residency-blog-harriina-raina/
– Harriina Räinä on Oysters, Shells, and the Ecology of Restoration
https://fciny.org/residency/harriina-raina-interview

Harriina Räinä is an artist based in Helsinki. Her practice examines relationships between humans and other animals, embodied and ethical engagements with material, and the tension between the natural and the artificial through experimental printmaking, sculptural elements, and photo-based methods. Her work has been exhibited at Aine Art Museum (2025), MUU Helsinki Contemporary Art Centre (2025), Hippolyte Studio (2023), Titanik Gallery (2023), and HAM Gallery, Helsinki Art Museum (2022). She has participated in several significant artist residencies, including the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (2022 and 2024) and the Saari Residence of the Kone Foundation (2021). Her works are included in the collections of the Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation (2025) and the State Art Commission of Finland (2018, 2024, and 2025). Harriina graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts at the University of the Arts Helsinki in 2019.