Observation of Change Exhibition displayed at the University of Lapland
The Observation of Change exhibition is part of a Nordic collaborative project that examines the ethics of ecological restoration through art and art education, while making biodiversity research visible within an Arctic context.
The works are based on documentation and observation, reflections on restoration practices, and dialogues related to nature conservation. The exhibition demonstrates how art can serve as a tool for exploring and communicating questions about ecological restoration.
The Observation of Change project is connected to the Junkerdal Nature Reserve in Northern Norway, where spruce trees planted for forestry purposes threaten native mountain birch forests and biodiversity. Between 2018 and 2021, restoration efforts and long-term research were conducted in the area to develop cost-effective methods for restoring mountain birch ecosystems.
Johannes Pekonen: Looking Close to the Benefits, vol. 2, 2025. Light installation: wood.
The exhibition presents artistic and pedagogical interventions developed during artist residencies. The project has also included art workshops for schoolchildren, in which relationships with nature and ecological restoration were explored, for example through drawing, as well as the visual communication of research findings through illustration. The exhibition brings together perspectives from art, science, and education, opening a space for multisensory and communal reflection on environmental change and the possibilities of ecological restoration.
Johannes Pekonen: Saw, 2024. Light installation: wood
Participating in the exhibition are Birgitta Linhart, Laila Ingvaldsen, Maria Huhmarniemi, Esa-Pekka Isomursu, Tommi Yläjoki, and Johannes Pekonen; the collective Mette Gårdvik–Karin Stoll–Wenche Sørmo; artist–curator Anja Kath Lande; and national park manager Johan Rova.
Esa Pekka Isomursu: Spruce trees "screaming" in ultraviolet, 2024. Photograph with a modified camera and UV bandpass filter.
Institutional partners of the project include the Adde Zetterquist Art Gallery, Nordland National Park Centre, Midtre Nordland nasjonalparkstyre, the Norwegian Institute of Nature Research (NINA), the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, the University of Lapland, Nord University, and the Arctic Sustainable Arts and Design network. The exhibition is supported by the Nordic Culture Fund.
More information about Observations of Change project
Maria Huhmarniemi, maria.huhmarniemi (at) ulapland.fi
In English: https://ulapland.fi/en/project/observation-of-change/
Suomeksi: https://ulapland.fi/hanke/88694/
Publications about the project
Huhmarniemi, M., & Lande, A. K. (2025). Observation of change as a new genre Arctic art. In A. Sohns (Ed.), Artistic dialogues with the Arctic North: Environmental change and identity in transition (pp. 13–26). Routledge.
Yläjoki, T., & Huhmarniemi, M. (2025). Observation of change in pedagogical performance. International Journal of Education Through Art, 21(2), 321–331, https://doi.org/10.1386/eta_00203_7
Huhmarniemi, M. (2024). Observation of Change. In T. Jokela, A. Manninen & P. Berliner (Eds.), Mapping the new genre Arctic art education (pp. 126–129). University of Lapland. www.urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe2024120599977
Images:
1. Tommi Yläjoki and Maria Huhmarniemi: With Indigenous Birch, 2025, video 9:25 minutes.
A dance with an indigenous birch tree, accompanied by a voice-over research brief by Rannveig M. Jacobsen and Siri Lie Olsen on forest restoration in the Junkerdalsura nature reserve.
2. Johannes Pekonen: Looking Close to the Benefits, vol. 2, 2025. Light installation: wood.
Through close inspection, I found a boon in the graveyard. I was impressed by how the naturally felled spruces supported the spread of the Rove Beetle population. Presented in my work: the booning.
3. Johannes Pekonen: Saw, 2024. Light installation: wood.
Turn the crank and look through the saw to see what it took to build this piece.
4. Esa Pekka Isomursu: Spruce trees "screaming" in ultraviolet, 2024. Photograph with a modified camera and UV bandpass filter.
Ultraviolet imaging reveals stress in spruce trees deliberately harmed to restore native birch forests. The image highlights ecological renewal while inviting reflection on tree sentience within evolving forest ecosystems.