Lapua Art Museum “Our Shared Food” 2022

Lapua Art Museum Our Shared Food Exhibition


What happened at ISEAS in Lapua? In Lapua, Finland, where my parents’ family and all my relatives hail from, the sixth edition of ISEAS in 2022 unfolded with a specific focus on food, engaging 97 participants from Southern Ostrobothnia, Finland, ranging from elementary school students to working-age farmers and older people.

For this event, I invited 20 artists, scientists, artist–researchers, co-workers, and documentary team members from both Finland and abroad to partake in an art–science collaboration. Over the course of the 10-day symposium, we lived together and engaged in various activities, including facilitated conversations, village walks, yoga mornings, evening dances, and saunas, all aimed at fostering a conducive environment for creativity. Each participant was committed to working together as equals, with daily events collectively reflected upon under the guidance of ISEAS mentors.

Food Memories, Handwritten Letter Printed on Canvas, 2023, by Katja Juhola; Memories, Video, 16 Min, 50 Sec, 2023, Katja Juhola and Teemu Mäki, Filmed by Linus Westerlund.

The canvas displays images of a handwritten letter sent to me by Mrs. Maija Korpi, a member of the Lapua Book Club (National Seniors’ Literary Circle). In this letter, Korpi reminisced about the past and her food-related memories. Through this artwork, as well as the accompanying film Memories, the exhibition spanned a temporal journey of over 150 years. It not only bridges the gap between the past and future, but also maintains a significant presence in the Anthropocene era.

The Lapua Book Club Madams, by Katja Juhola, 2023. Mixed Media on Canvas: Photograph, Appliqué, Color Pigment, and Acrylic. The artwork The Lapua Book Club Madams” is based on a photograph by Fabio Cito depicting the members of the book club in Lapua. The participants were gathered around a coffee table during the summer of 2022, engaging in conversation with the ISEAS team. Topics discussed included poems with food and nature themes, childhood experiences during wartime, and environmental changes witnessed throughout the members’ lifetimes. Those from the ISEAS team present included me, Teemu Mäki, Mahmoud Mohammadi from Iran, researcher Panu Pihkala, photographer Fabio Cito from the documentation team, and videographer Linus Westerlund.

Katja Juhola and Anu Hopia, Dream Dinner Table, 2023: Installation, Drawings on Paper and Textiles, “Menu Cards” with Children’s Own Stories.

The installation Dream Dinner Table was created by pupils from the elementary school at Tiistenjoki. Artworks related to food served as the starting point for this installation. The children brought their ideas to life in workshops facilitated by food scientist Anu Hopia, musician Sonja Jokiranta, the chief executive officer of the company Luovuuden Lakeus [Plains of Creativity], artist–art educator Joan Marie Kelly, and a training and well-being instructor and art student Arun Yadav. These workshops took place in the rural village of Tiistenjoki in Lapua in 2022. Every pupil from the elementary school participated in these workshops. These artworks are joyfully anarchic and boundary-pushing. Eternal connotations associated with food and community emerged from the works. Process descriptions in the form of menu cards were integrated into the installation. Health effects and traceability were not forgotten either. Happiness, delicacy, sharing, and parties were, however, the most prominent features.

-The installation Dream Dinner Table, 2023

–Meeting the Field, 2023, Video Artwork, 4 Min 26 Sec

–Favorite Places 1–3, 2023, by Katja Juhola

The series Favorite Places consists of mixed media works on canvas, incorporating photography and acrylic. In August 2022, I asked three South Ostrobothnian farmers to identify their favorite spots on their farms and explain their significance. The photographs were taken by Fabio Cito, the official photographer of the ISEAS symposium. The hand-painted texts provided by the farmers were transcribed by me, with a slight modification made to Hannele Suvanto’s text with her permission and included the following:
● Winter Wheat Field: The favorite place of Johannes Sipilä, who deeply values nature itself and closeness to nature.
● Home Yard: The favorite place of Hannele Suvanto, a beekeeper who views home and family as central to her entrepreneurial life.
● Cow Pasture: The favorite place of Kalle Fält, who runs a dairy farm and regards the well-being of his animals as essential.