Emilia Pennanen :
Earthed and waterborne (Petrichor) (Hall 2)

a promise dissolves into the sea, her tongue kisses hers, and then another, and finally herself, forgetting herself, merging with herself 

they speak to me until a butterfly lands on my knee, until the sun burns a mark into the ground, until you vanish thousands of kilometers away, until you come to meet me as a burnt image underwater 

faceless, drawn upon your hand, you touch the other hand 

my face is once again beneath the water mist, for I once touched that hand, drew over the drawings, but not over this new one 

until I-am-no-more, in the same way that you-are-no-more 

The exhibition Earthed and waterborne (Petrichor) is rooted in the experience of a place where a twin flame burns. The twin flame (or mirror self) is a myth based on a single soul divided into two separate bodies. According to the original myth, humans were made of a single body with two heads, four arms, and four legs, until Zeus split them in two; thereafter, each half wandered the earth in search of its missing counterpart.   

When twin flames meet, they see themselves in each other. Like a mirror image that initially appears as a perfect, missing part of the self.  As they burn side by side, the twin flames reveal hidden facets of each other. Twin flames cannot ever truly unite, for their true essence keeps them forever separate, in two different worlds: water and air. After the encounter, their bodies gradually transform into other elements—water, stone, and plants—eventually forming icons.  

The exhibition consists of mixed-media photographic sculptures in which the act of seeing a landscape—and the physical and emotional experience of a place—transforms into a new location, a kind of reverie or its very opposite. The sensory nature of the works carries an emotional charge that leads deep into emotional memories and desire. The photographic prints within the works serve as a gateway where everyday reality dissolves and a subconscious nightmare takes shape. 

The artist’s work during 2024–2026 and the creation of these pieces have been supported by the Finnish Cultural Foundation, the Arts Promotion Centre Finland, the Väinö Tanner Foundation, and the RAMA residency. 

Emilia Pennanen is a visual artist based in Helsinki. Her practice encompasses photography, writing, and exhibition installations. She draws inspiration from the poetry of American poet Emily Dickinson (1830–1886), characterized by symbolism linking feminine sensuality with the natural world. Her recent work combines the representational nature of landscape photography with themes of the sacred and the feminine. Pennanen’s works have been acquired for the collections of the State Art Commission and the Finnish Art Society’s art lottery (2025). A solo exhibition curated by Ana Anacleto, titled Ligada à Terra e transportada pela Água, is currently on view at the Paços Gallery in Torres Vedras, Portugal, from July to November 2026. Pennanen participated in the group exhibition Vesireitit (Waterways), curated by Riikka Thitz, at the Lappeenranta Art Museum in 2026. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Photography from Aalto University (2022) and a degree in Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art (2014). 

Notice! Opening hours: Tuesday–Thursday 12–6pm, Friday–Sunday 12–4pm (the exhibition ends on Saturday, September 19th)