Primeval Forest, In the footsteps of Pentti Linkola 13 September 2025–1 February 2026

The exhibition, created in cooperation with the photographer and curator Taneli Eskola and the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation, offers a glimpse into the ancient forests and endangered habitats of Great Häme, which were significant landscapes and excursion sites for the eco-philosopher and fisherman Pentti Linkola (1932–2020).

Linkola, known for his speeches and writings in support of nature conservation, founded the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation in 1995. He directed its activities for 25 years, until his death. The foundation has protected in total over 6,000 hectares of Finnish nature. These protected areas are Linkola’s heritage, the footprints he left behind in this world. 

Eskola has curated a dialogue between Linkola’s texts, his own recent landscape photographs and the works by Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865–1931), Eero Järnefelt (1863–1937), Pekka Halonen (1865–1933) and Fanny Churberg (1845–1892). The common denominator in these works is the artists’ exploration of the feeling for nature and the experience of place, as well as their ideas about the sacred nature of forests and trees at different points in time.

Taneli Eskola’s landscape photographs represent contemporary art, but they include features reminiscent of landscape paintings from over a century ago. The printing, framing and interpretation of colour tones in the works emphasise the similarities. The photographs date from the early 1970s to 2025. The photographs of the forests protected by the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation have been taken over the last three years, some during Eskola’s excursions with the non-fiction writer Anneli Jussila.

The exhibition texts are based on Anneli Jussila’s book Alkumetsä, Pentti Linkolan sydänmailla (Primeval Forest, Pentti Linkola’s heartland). The book is the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation’s 30th anniversary publication and examines forests from a cultural-ecological perspective whilst deepening the reader’s understanding of Linkola's relationship with nature.

The environmental philosopher was deeply concerned about the loss of natural heritage that is so vital to humanity. Akseli Gallen-Kallela had taken the same stance decades earlier: “Finnish people used to live in a delicate harmony with the trees in our forests. But over the last sixty, seventy years, this poetry of nature has almost entirely vanished from the inner life of our nation – thanks to the greed for money awoken by the logging companies.”  

Press conference at the Gallen-Kallela Museum Espoo on Friday 12 September 11am. 

At the event, the exhibition’s curator Taneli Eskola will present the key themes of the exhibition, and the non-fiction writer Anneli Jussila will talk about her book published by the Finnish Natural Heritage Foundation to coincide with the opening of the exhibition. We wish you a warm welcome to come and hear more about the background to the exhibition and the creation of the book!

Gallen-Kallela Museum, Gallen-Kallelan tie 27, 02600 Espoo