Have you heard the secret of the river; that time does not exist? That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, in the mountains and in the sea, everywhere, and that the present moment exists only for that, not the shadow of the past nor the glow of the future.
In Brazil, in the Atlantic rainforest, flows a river where Toivonen’s ancestors bathed almost a century ago. The Finnish immigrants aimed to live in harmony with nature. The clear mountain river waters were believed to offer renewal to the human mind and connect the body to the world of other species. The ancestors did not need stone temples, because the living temple was under their feet and above their heads. The River Carries Flowers is an ode and a gift to the river, the forest and the life that inhabits it. By exploring cultural memory and heritage, the artist seeks to build bridges between the past and the present, and to create a connection to Mother Earth, the living and breathing world beyond humanity.
According to the worldviews of most indigenous peoples, entities like rivers and forests are believed to contain a certain spirit. Plants and spirits act reciprocally and are grateful for the respect shown to them. Placing flowers in bodies of water is an ancient, intercultural ritual used for purification, healing and honoring the sacred. It functions as a respectful gift to ancestors, deities or nature spirits. Giving a gift to the water is an acknowledgment of the interdependence of life – when a drop of water flows through the veins of a tree in Brazil, it is simultaneously connected to the waters caressing the shores of Finland.
The exhibition consists of photographs, prints and interventions that symbolize the intertwining of the web of life. Like a ritual, the exhibition honors water as the source of life, emphasizing its impermanence and focusing on the connection with the rhythm of nature – just as flowers bloom in their own time, flowing with the river is a trust in the process and the timing of nature. The river is not just water; it is a moving prayer that teaches us to flow.
Tapahtuman järjestäjä:
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Nimi
Galleria Ratamo
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Sähköpostiosoite
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Puhelinnumero
050 3118901
Vieraile tapahtuman järjestäjän verkkosivuilla.
