Roni Rekomaa: Männyt
16.-30.12.2022 Yö Galleria
OPENING PARTY 15.12. 18-21
7 years ago I planted my first tree: a pine. I spent a lot of time finding a suitable spot. In the end, I decided that the safest place for the pine tree would be in the yard of my parents' house, among other trees and shrubs. I thought that in this place it would live a long life. But it didn't. My parents' house was sold a few years after the planting. The first thing the new residents did was cut the tree down.
"Finland lives from the forest". We often hear and read about the Finns' special relationship with the forest. I do not deny that Finns have a 'special' relationship with the forest. But what kind of relationship is it really? There are many opinions on that.
Around 75% of our country's surface area is forest. Compared to the rest of Europe, Finland is a very sparsely populated country. Once, on landing in Helsinki, the person next to me asked me: "Why do all the roads go to the forest?". We Finns know why.
So there is plenty of forest in Finland, but what about a forest in which the impact of human activity is not visible? That is difficult to find. People have been sawing, pruning and replanting trees in addition to traditional hunting and camping in the forests. Lakes have been drained into fields, fields planted into forests, swamps drained into forests, forests drained back into swamps. When it comes to forests, the Finns have been industrious and hard-working. In Finland, pine trees in particular have long been of interest - at least as tar, timber, pulp and pine oil.
Pine trees have not brought euros into my wallet, but instead they have guided me to the forest and opened my eyes to its beauty. You could even say that pine trees have given me my interest in forests. Ever since I was a child I have spent time in the archipelago, and I have been amazed at the incredible places where pine trees can grow. I also think that pine trees have a more distinctive appearance than other species commonly found in Finland. I feel that pine trees get more "handsome" as they get older. As a rule, pine trees are cut between 10 and 60 years of age. However, they can live up to 100-800 years. Pine trees need time to develop their character.
For almost a decade I have been photographing pine trees finding fine specimens. Sometimes I have travelled long distances and made the effort to get close to them. The pines of the archipelago in particular are like the Italian grandmothers of the north. In a dry and often windy environment, they have had little chance to grow in abundance, but they do not give up, they grow with determination.
With the disappearance of perennial settlements and the high cost of harvesting wood, the pines of the archipelago can now live in relative peace. There will be many beautiful pines there in the future, if drought - or man - does not destroy them.