Tuuli Meriläinen: Ikimuistoiset hetket

The exhibition features works from two different series of paintings.

“The first series, called Modern Fairytales, deals with Finns' experiences of nature. For the series, I have collected people's most memorable experiences with nature and created paintings inspired by them. The stories can be read in the exhibition. Another series called Peace, deals with different emotional states through colors and deer.

For the Modern Fairytales series, I have interviewed people face-to-face and looked at pictures and other material related to the stories. The narratives have been written down and permission to make them public has been asked from the interviewees. A considerable number of stories accumulated and not all of them have been painted into a work. To implement the series, I received a grant from the Karelia Culture Fund, which has helped me work on the series for half a year.

I have always liked listening to and reading stories. My childhood included field trips and events that involved telling stories around the campfire. The stories of older people
opened up another world and often had humor in them, which spoke to me.

In 2019, at the opening of the exhibition, I was told a story so impressive that it made me dream of
depicting the story through painting. This led me to interview people who had great experiences to share and write down the stories. For the works, I narrowed down the
stories so that they relate to nature in one way or another. Most of the interviewees are older, but there are also young people.

The works of the Rauha series are, for me, typical depictions of roe deer. Calm colors and the conveying of emotions through expressive deer faces play the main role in the works. With my works, I strive to bring joy and a good mood to the viewer. The works are visually beautiful and easily relatable.” Tuuli Meriläinen