Outimaija Hakala – From the Woods

Aika 18.01.2025
23.03.2025

In visual artist Outimaija Hakala’s exhibition, a forest grows in a human-made space. This forest is a diverse whole, an artistic kin to an ecological biome, composed of plaster, wood, and paper instead of organic, living matter, with visual and auditory echoes from the outside. What is a forest? How does it feel, what does it mean, how does it look and sound? Who inhabits the forest, and whose home is it? Do we belong to the forest? The works invite reflection on the atmosphere of the forest and non-human beings.

From the woods exhibition portrays the forest where artist Outimaija Hakala spends much time; it originates from the forest and within it. The artist’s work in nature remains partly concealed within the forest’s cover but has left its mark on these works.

The forest is a complex whole made up of various parts and beings. It is a place where Hakala finds rest and from which she draws ideas through environmental reflection and interspecies encounters. It is also a place the artist sees as home for animals. Art engaging with wild animals emphasizes respect for their wildness and otherness.

“I find it essential to depict the relationship between humans and other animals, an existence grounded in appreciation for life and the preservation of its diversity.” – Outimaija Hakala

At Aalto University, Hakala is conducting posthumanist dissertation research focused on animal ethics and ecology, considering animals’ perspectives and stories in visual art. Her research evolves in relation to the forest and non-human animals; Forest Images is part of her postgraduate work. In addition to traditional exhibitions, Hakala’s work is rooted in artistic creation on a forest plot, where she builds environmental and land art pieces that center on animals and promote local biodiversity.

“I am fascinated by how different environments shape artwork—how, for instance, an environmental piece co-created with moose using salt blocks changes when moved from the forest to the museum as a sculpture.” – Outimaija Hakala

Hakala’s artistic research is part of a broader discourse on animal and environmental ethics, motivated by a pursuit of harmony with nature. For the artist, art is an act of curious exploration, learning, and reaching out to others. Through these works, she reflects on her artistic principles and develops methods that better include non-human beings. The exhibition consists mainly of plaster casts and wood engravings, where Hakala has explored material choices and how to represent other beings in ways that honor nature’s order.

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Outimaija Hakala (b. 1983) is a visual artist and art historian who has lived half of her life in Jyväskylä. Currently, she is pursuing her doctoral research at Aalto University’s Department of Art and Media. Alongside animal and environmental themes, she is intrigued by materials and learning traditional craftsmanship in art.

Exhibition inquiries:
Senior Curator Ilja Koivistoilja.koivisto@jyvaskyla.fi+358 50 311 8879