Image: Sanna Kauppinen, Island I, pencil on paper, 160 x 105 cm, 2018
ISLAND and other stories
In the Island theme, Kauppinen deals with the narrowed living space of animals caused by climate change and modern forestry. Animal and plant species that require a certain type of habitat, seem as if being trapped on the “islands”. For animals in the northern regions, for example, global warming is catastrophic. They simply have no space to move further north from the path of heat and the competing species that come with it.
The diversity of our forests is also under threat as a result of intensive land use and forestry. This results in a different kind of “insularity”, when, for example, deforestation causes forest areas to fragment and there are no longer enough old-growth forests.
In addition to drawings and installations, the artist’s earlier production can be seen in the exhibition at the Gallery Aarni in Espoo.
Thanks to the Arts Promotion Centre Finland for supporting the exhibition, and to the Finnish Cultural Foundation for supporting working.