3.-13.11. Melissa Sammalvaara:Forest Highway/Metsäreitti

Exhibition opening:

3.11.2022 klo 18-20

Opening hours:

Mon to fri 12-17

Sat 12-15

Sun 6.11. closed

Sun 13.11. 12-15

Exhibition dives into phenomenas and creatures of nature through tapestry art. Forest Highway means often a shortcut, a route that is organically formed without planning and where you can have fascinating encounters with nature. The exhibition itself is like a cabinet of curiousness where the bigger tapestries of the plant theme divide the space into the smaller corners. With this exhibition I want to repeat and interpret our close environment and its fascinating details. In addition and on the other hand I want to exhibit all the spectrum of the unknown species we cannot even imagine.

The connection between materia and the theme can be found from following processes: Like tapestry, born by knot by knot also the moss and living creatures captures their space slowly but with purpose. A human being needs to find the way slowing down thinking process in addition to find connection to slow kind of investigation that we have temporary abandoned. In this global world we are searching for our roots through concrete, touchable materials and through meaningful and patience work on day to day basis. With slowness we fight against the disposability and permission of fast travelling: It is possible to change your everyday live interesting and valuable without travelling to the edge of the world.

Melissa Sammalvaara is Helsinki based artist and designer who works by campfires and enjoys adventures. She creates tapestries inspired by moss and nature, investigating idea of space and relation between nature and human through different textures, materials and techniques. The tapestries made by hand are rich and their form varies as they grow against a wall as organic clusters and spread gently but decisively. Sammalvaara creates her tapestries by knitting, punch needling and knotting. Like traditionally the doing itself is slow and meticulous.

Works made by Sammalvaara can be found from places like Finnish State Art comission and Institut finlandais of Paris. She gratuated as Master of Arts from Aalto University in 2019. Currently Sammalvaara works with a year-long grand admitted by Finnish culture foundation.

www.melissasammalvaara.com