4–28.6.2026

(Closed on Midsummer’s Eve 19 June.)

I notice changes, flights across the bay, others leave traces on this land. The rhythm changes and inklings start to guide my thoughts. I think about everything that has been taken from this place, and what is given back to it.

In my sleep, I am trying to find my way back. I keep these memories in the maps of my body. I travel through the deep shadows of marshlands, winding along riverbeds, hollowed by the weight of glaciers, through mountains, towards the birthplace. The same paths have guided this journey before. I search for omens and directions in these lines, where eternity and the present moment rest. Memories of the past and glimmers of the future grow around me like a web. I twist, knot and divide into different directions. I let my roots dig deeper, becoming part of this union.

The truth slowly dawns on me. I recognize this land; with the demanding gaze at its gates. Here, nothing exists without another; the only order is found within this cyclical swirl. I make a deal with the landscape. There is no need to return home, because it always travels with me.

The Equilibrium exhibition explores cyclicality and balance, transitions and transformations. In the presence of nature, I recognize my participation in the annual cycle. The landscape becomes an extension of the body, where the self intertwines with the pulsating circulatory system. Here I am a part of something, I am connected, I am present. When something ends, something new begins, and I become intertwined with this ancient web.

Johanna Lumme (b. 1990) is a visual artist and writer based in Helsinki, with her roots in North Karelia. In her work, the changes occurring in northern nature emerge as bodily, emotional experiences. The environment is a vast root system, extending through all of us. Human beings cannot exist separately from it, as the body is always connected to the changing environment. The artist’s abstract works address the inevitability of material circulation: nothing that exists ever truly disappears, only transformation is possible.

Lumme’s works have previously been on display in solo and joint exhibitions in Finland and internationally in Estonia, Sweden and Germany. She holds a Master of Arts degree from Aalto University’s School of Arts, Design and Architecture. She is a member of the Finnish Painters’ Union, the Helsinki Artists’ Association and the Union of Finnish Writers. Her work has previously been supported by, among others, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland and the Kone Foundation.

I wish to thank the Mustarinda residency in Kainuu, the mysterious wintery month of February, the forest and the people with whom I travelled towards this series of works. Niina, thank you for the shared moments in the studio and Tapani for guiding me in woodcarving.