MIRAGE – Emilia Pennanen

“Mirage” (a mirage, an optical illusion) is a phenomenon where light reflects and refracts into different layers due to variations in air temperature. In a mirage, we may sometimes see things that are beyond the horizon, or it may create a mirror image of the landscape, appearing upside down in the air.

The tradition of landscape photography, which emerged on the West Coast of the United States, has from the beginning contributed to a visual narrative of freedom and vastness—of a romanticized unknown, a sense of not belonging, and an encounter with nature. This longing for freedom is also characteristic of the American folklore that has become familiar through art and pop culture—stories of journeys through the American West, across deserts, and toward some greater destination.

The Mirage exhibition originates from an examination of the illusion of freedom built into the concept of landscape. In her work, artist Emilia Pennanen reflects on what a mirage contains and what constitutes a landscape. The project explores the legacy of the 19th-century West Coast landscape tradition, in which landscapes exist at a distance from the viewer. The starting point for this work was a three-week road trip through California, Nevada, and Arizona in late 2019–early 2020, during which Pennanen photographed and studied the places she encountered. She focused on elements often left out of focus in classical landscape photography—land, vegetation, and sky. Her aim was to approach the experience of being in a place in a bodily, physical way and to create works that embody the holistic essence of a place, beyond the limits of human perception.

Through presence, touch, and the photographic trace, Pennanen has reconstructed fragments of the places and moments she encountered. At the same time, she has reinterpreted images, songs, and stories depicting landscapes, using the tools of visual art. The result is fragmented: the landscape unfolds as a multi-dimensional and immersive space, constantly shifting and expanding. The works form a landscape that includes bodies of water, land, wind, sunsets, sunlight, and traces of both human and more-than-human presence. They serve as interpretations of places and landscapes encountered on the journey. The exhibition consists of sculptural works created using various image-making techniques and a sound piece.

The artist’s work and the production of the exhibition have been supported by the Arts Promotion Centre Finland.

Translated with ChatGPT