Residency Guests

Born in Mexico City, Karen Perry has been working at the Serlachius Residency in January in the middle of the deepest winter. She admits that the peace and quiet of the town have provided a very special opportunity to work on a new project and at the same time reflect on her own work as a visual artist.

“I visited Finland for the first time ten years ago. At that time, I found incredible peace of mind, the surrounding nature and really friendly people. When I heard about the Serlachius Residency, I wanted to come to Mänttä because it is so different from my hometown,” she says.

Karen Perry holds a bachelor’s degree from the National School of Painting, Sculpture, and Engraving in La Esmeralda. She has been teaching since 2006 and currently teaches in the Bachelor’s Program in Art and Design at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

At the Serlachius Residency, Karen Perry has worked on new textile works through which she examines the position of women artists. She is interested in textiles as materials for works of art, as they have traditionally been allowed for women as well. By dyeing them with graphite, she breaks boundaries related to things that were long forbidden to women in her own country, such as writing.

“My project is an abstraction of women’s inner thoughts that have never been written about. For some exceptional individuals, these ideas became voices that they had to live with, which led to their isolation or condemned their genius as madness,” she explains the background of her works.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in January 2025.

Yu-Hsuan Yao, Taiwan/Finland

Yu-Hsuan Yao, who is originally from Taiwan and has lived in Finland since 2012, started at the residency in early January and will continue until the end of February. She is currently studying for a Master of Arts degree at Aalto University.

The multidisciplinary artist first planned to make video art at the residency, but after seeing her large studio, she decided to start painting.

Mänttä has been familiar to Yu-Hsuan since 2021, when she worked for a month as a trainee at the first Realm of Visual Arts exhibition. She enjoyed art and nature very much. Since then, she has hoped to be able to come to Mänttä to work on her own project.

Yu-Hsuan hopes to be able to talk to local artists and residents about Mänttä-Vilppula as the art capital of Finland and create an installation inspired by it. During her residency period, she has already fallen in love with the steam of the Serlachius Art Sauna.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in January 2025.

Iisa Lepistö, Finland

Iisa Lepistö, who came to the Serlachius Residency at the beginning of February, mainly works with stone, through text and sculpture. Her works deal with memory, perseverance and rhythm. In stone, she is interested in the tension that forms between the material’s far-reaching history and the present.

During her residency, she is working on a text that has been with her for a couple of years. In the text, she delves into the process of sculpture, combining essay and fiction. Parts of the text have been published as such or in slightly different forms in Finnish magazines Mustekala (2022), Nuori Voima (2023) and Tuli & Savu (2024). Now she is working on the text in a slightly broader form.

“I have enjoyed the residency and have been able to get into a good working pace. It has been nice to return to Mänttä in the winter, as I have worked here for the Art Festival just over ten years ago. Many things look a little different now, but at the same time, the landscape seems unchanged in a positive way,” she says.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in February 2025.

Jussi Nykänen, Finland

Sculptor Jussi Nykänen from Lappeenranta has been on a drawing retreat at the residency during March. His days have been spent with ink, markers and papers. The artist has also been delighted by the exhibition of his all-time favourite Giorgio de Chirico, which recently opened at the Serlachius Headquarters.

“Before my residency period, I worked in sculpture for many years, but it has been nice to immerse myself in a straightforward basic work such as drawing here for the first time in a long time,” he says.

Nykänen has drawn a series with the working title Rangat (Spine), which continues the series of sculptures he started in 2023. The starting point for the works is the study of the anatomies of different living species. The work is characterised by ecological themes and implementation methods.

“I’m particularly fond of studying spines. The structure and shape of the spine and bones have inspired me for years, and in my latest works it has become a central element of my works. When the flesh is stripped of the bones, we are strikingly similar to many other living things.”

This observation, simple in itself, has strengthened his notion of the interrelatedness of all living things. With his future works, he aims to show the connection between humans and other species.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in March 2025.

Working Group Paper Towns, Finland

Photographer Touko Hujanen and writer Jantso Jokelin have been touring current and former paper mill towns around Finland for more than a year. More than a dozen paper towns have been selected as travel destinations, from Kuusankoski to Kemi and from Mänttä to Varkaus.

The couple’s interest has not so much focused on the paper industry but on the whole life of small industrial towns: cafés, swimming pools, bars, hobby places and homes. What are paper cities, how have they been formed and where are they going?

The book Paper Towns, which will be created as a result of the project, shows Finnish industrial towns in a new light. The work combines the methods of non-fiction, journalism and poetry, as well as collages made from archival materials, into a new kind of genre, reportage poetry. The book will be published in 2026.

In recent weeks, the working group has been collecting material and compiling a book and an exhibition at the Serlachius Residency. The process exhibition Paper Towns in the residence gallery offers a first glimpse into a multi-year project that travels in different time planes and mirrors the mindscape of the inhabitants of paper cities.

Antti Jauhiainen, a researcher and a member of the working group, has toured the localities throughout the project and is working on his doctoral dissertation on bar parliaments – informal discussion groups that meet in cafés, bars or petrol stations. These often involve social discussions, even though the participants do not consider themselves active citizens.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in March 2025.

Luciana Mariano, Brazil/Finland

Luciana Mariano, a naïve artist who moved to Finland from Brazil, has spent an extra month at the Serlachius Residency, as her first large-scale paintings have taken much more time than she originally thought.

“I’ve been surprised by how challenging it has been to work with larger paintings. My original idea was to create more works here, but I’ve noticed how significant an impact size has,” she admits.

Larger works have also offered new opportunities. She thinks it’s great to implement and see details more accurately than before, and to focus on the texture of fabrics, for example, which is more difficult in small works. “This residency has been like a dream come true, the perfect environment for making art. I love being here – the routines, the peace and the opportunity to fully concentrate on painting make this experience unique. It’s an artist’s ideal life: sleeping, painting, eating and starting all over again,” she says.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in June 2025.

Savu Korteniemi, Suomi

In April, Rovaniemi-based visual artist and freelance writer Savu E. Korteniemi started at the residency. During her residency period, she is working on her project The Last, which she has been working on since 2017.

The starting point of the project is the identification of death and the north in Baltic-Finnic mythology and, more broadly, the cultural, ecological and social meanings associated with the north.

The subject of the installation is grouse as messengers of death and omens, as transmitters of information. At the same time, she deals with the grief caused by the loss of species and the destruction of habitats.

“I did my first ink work on this topic already in 2017, when I started the project The Last. After that, the subject has been brewing for years, until now I got the opportunity to create the installation as part of the group exhibition Snowball Effect, which will be on display at the Aine Art Museum in Tornio,” Savu says.

The arrival in Mänttä was slightly delayed than planned. She hopes to be able to settle down to the subject and her work during her residency period, which will continue until the end of May. “Now the time seems really short, I’m sure I’d like to stay here a bit longer!”

The text has been published in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in April 2025.

Anna Tahkola, Finland

Anna Tahkola is a visual artist living in Turku, who graduated from Aalto University’s Master’s Programme in Fine Arts in 2015. She works in a multidisciplinary way with drawing, painting, sculpture, performance art and writing. Physicality and affective thinking are central.

“In my works, I explore the simultaneity, mixing and living earth of the manifestation of things on the level of material and philosophically. My style can be described as magical realism. I read, write and work with natural clay and porcelain, as well as drawing with pencil, graphite and watercolours,” she says.

She was attracted to the Serlachius Residency by the good working spaces and the encounters with other artists. Mänttä combines a peaceful environment that invites focused immersion and an active art field with the opening of the Art Festival.

“On the outdoor trails around Mänttä and Keuruu, I will be able to continue the central method of walking and drifting in a new terrain, developed by the International Situationists.” During her residency period in June, Anna Tahkola will prepare ceramics and drawings for her upcoming exhibitions at the Salo Art Museum (2025) and Gallery G (2027). She studies the nature of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, as the first oxygen-producing organism and, on the other hand, as a toxic apocalyptic plant that is conquering the seas by humans.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in June 2025.

Jack Faber, Portugal/Finland

Jack Faber on Helsingissä asuva visuaalinen taiteilija-tutkija. Hän työskentelee ekologian, elokuvan ja kartografian risteyskohdassa keskittyen usein siihen, miten ympäristön muutokset, militarisaatio ja ilmaston epävakaus ilmenevät sekä näkyvin että näkymättömin tavoin. Hän käyttää ensisijaisesti kuvaa ja ääntä, ja hänen työnsä pohjautuu paikkasidonnaiseen kenttätyöhön.

”Minua veti puoleensa Serlachiuksen ainutlaatuinen suhde maisemaan, ääneen ja taiteelliseen perintöön. Residenssi tarjoaa harvinaisen mahdollisuuden irrottautua Helsingin kaupunkielämän intensiteetistä ja syventyä toisenlaiseen ympäristöön – sellaiseen, jota muovaavat metsät, järvet sekä Mäntän teollisuuden ja kulttuurin kerroksellinen historia”, hän perustelee.

Serlachius Residenssissä hän kehittää teosta nimeltä Sonic Sanctuaries – audiovisuaalista installaatiota, joka muodostaa osan hänen väitöskirjansa viimeistä lukua. Projekti tutkii melusaastetta, ääniherkkyyttä sekä ihmisen ja ympäristön välisiä suhteita minuutin mittaisten, paikallisiin äänimaisemiin pohjautuvien otosten kautta.

”Toivon, että residenssi toimii sekä pohdinnan että tuotannon tilana – että voin kehittää uutta kenttätyötä, hioa väitöskirjani aikana kehittämiäni audiovisuaalisia menetelmiä. OIen myös utelias näkemään, miten paikalliset äänimaisemat ja kohtaamiset voivat muokata tutkimukseni suuntaa.”

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter kesäkuussa 2025.

Maija Ojanen, Suomi

Jyväskylä-based visual artist Maija Ojanen has been painting large-scale watercolour and gouache paintings at the residency since the beginning of July. She got the motifs for her works from the Budapest Botanical Garden, which she visited during her residency a year ago in August.

“The imagery of my works varies from documentary visual narrative to surrealism. The works are born out of wondering about being human and experiencing the world,” she says.

Maija Ojanen is currently working on a three-year grant from the Finnish Cultural Foundation. Her goal is to create an extensive collection of works during that time and put together an exhibition of the works at the end of the season, the time and place of which are still open.

She has enjoyed being able to concentrate fully on painting without the distractions of everyday life. On the other hand, she likes to be surrounded by other artists, even though the encounters are sporadic. “Normally, I work alone at home and my studio is quite small, so it’s good to have a larger space from time to time, where it’s easier to perceive and work on larger-sized works,” she says. In addition to her intensive work, she has gone through the towns exhibitions, swam and explored chanterelle spots in the nearby forests. “Even though I have made short visits to Mänttä over the years, the place opens up in a whole new way when you stop here for a longer period of time.”

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in August 2025.

Misha de Val and Raisa Raekallio, Finland

Misha del Val and Raisa Raekallio, who visited the Serlachius Residency three years ago, have been working in Mänttä again since the beginning of July. The artists living in Sirkka, Kittilä, were driven “south” by the snot in July, i.e. the abundance of mosquitoes, midges and horseflies.

“Lapland is a great place in all other seasons, but not in July. The colours of the landscape are not particularly beautiful and there are far too many mosquitoes,” admits Misha del Val, who is working alone in the studio this time.

The artist couple, who paint together on the same canvas in an exceptional way and even at the same time, have created several works at the Serlachius Residency, and new ones are being created at a steady pace. At the same time, they are working on the Sirkka Arte Biennale, which will be held from 4 to 7 September in Sirkka.

The biennale, held every two years, brings together fourteen well-known painters and this time also experts in the field of art. This year, the biennale will spread from the home yard to three other locations, one of which is the studio space of the Särestöniemi Museum, also located in Kittilä.

Misha del Val and Raisa Raekallio have also been working on their exhibition at Galerie Forsblom in Helsinki at the end of the year. Its theme is snow, and the partly unfinished works in the residency’s workspace contain figures covered in soft snow.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in August 2025.

Sarah Spitzer, Germany

Sarah Spitzer, an artist from Germany, will spend the month of August at the Serlachius Residency. She has enjoyed the silence and tranquillity of the residency, which has given her the opportunity to fully focus on her artistic work.

Sarah works with different media. The main focus is on photography, graphics and mixed-media installations.

During her residency period, she will work on several projects, one of which is a site-specific work set in Mänttä. Her approach combines the present and past of the region. The work is based on Serlachius’ archival materials, which she combines with the traces left by the “spirit” of the place.

Her second work also deals with the relationship between man and nature and examines their interaction during the current Anthropocene.

Finland and Mänttä, which have been isolated places throughout their history, inspired her to explore these themes. “Nature plays a central role in the past, present and future, and thus is part of cultural identity,” she says.

The text was published in Finnish language in the Serlachius Residency newsletter in August 2025.

The following have also been selected for the residency period: