Jacob Juhl

Solo exhibition at Kunsthalle Seinäjoki, Finland, June-November 2024.

"Jacob Juhl (DK) has transformed the Vintti space into an artificial forest. In the artist's imagination, habitat loss and climate change are altering our environment so much that future generations may not recognize what we mean by a natural forest. Reaching towards the high ceiling, the trees made of planks and their roots are overtaking the wooden floor, and invite visitors to wander. Dry branches and plastic leaves of the trees point to a real forest; hybrid creatures, inhabitants of the forest cast in plastic, silicone, plaster, and marble, resemble something familiar yet strange; the birdsong created by an artificial intelligence could be real, but it isn't. Likewise, the nonexistent rustle of wind through trees that don't sway.

Imagine a Tree reflects on the borders between natural and artificial, and how our relationship with nature changes over time. What does “nature” mean? Is nature just a place where we can go for a walk and then go back home? Is nature a name for everything that is alive? What did nature mean 100 years ago? What will it mean in 100 years? How will human beings in the distant future remember this thing that we call “nature”?" (Exhibition text written by the curators at the kunsthalle) 

The hybrid objects in the exhibition are made of plaster, marble, silicone, branches, laboratory equipment, epoxy and more.

The top photograph is by Krista Luoma, the rest by me.