Once Upon a Time, in This Place

Johanna Lecklin’s (s. 1972) exhibition Once Upon a Time, in This Place at Serlachius Museums Gustaf addresses a painful episode in Finland’s history, the Civil War. Moreover, it examines the possible effects and aftermath of the events of 1918.

She searches in history for stories and events that can also help us explain the present day. For the exhibition, Johanna Lecklin used Serlachius Museums’ archival material on the Civil War. She also photographed views of Mänttä for the series of photographs Once upon a time, in this place.

At Serlachius Museum Gustaf, in her moving image installation Not only about passion, two stories run side by side. Two girls ponder on the Civil War as they play the board game Battle of the Reds and Whites in Finland 1918. A researcher examines the fate of Red women and children at the time of the Civil War, the division of society and the dehumanisation of the enemy. The events of the work are set in the present day.