Modern human beings have a contentious relationship with nature. In countries rich with forests, such as Finland, that relationship can be paradoxical. Forests are seen as essential for everyday life but are also easily forgotten as they exist on the fringes of modern urbanised living. More often than not, they serve a utility, commercial function or are used as recreational space all while serving as backdrop or setting for human activity. Often, the beauty and mundanity of a forest, and any appreciation for a forest as-it-is, is ignored or taken for granted.
A forest is neither silent nor empty; it never exists in solitude or separated. Each life-form that inhabits a forest is intimately connected, including any human who chooses to inhabit these places. Forests have always presented us with unseen dangers. Even with paths to guide us, they can be labyrinthian. So how to find a way forward in this maze?
ariadne combines temporary site-specific installations, photography, performance and installations using second-hand fabrics and deadstock textiles to re-create a forest environment inhabited by a creature. This creature leaves behind traces of its presence in the form of red fabric, leading the viewer through the forest and revealing mundane details otherwise left unnoticed. The work asks us to reconsider the separation between human constructs and naturally-occurring structures, and whether they can co-exist to create hybrid landscapes, however fleeting or permanent.