Six questions for
Alma Heikkilä

How do you describe your own art practice?

I wish to make space and time for wondering and digesting contemporary scientific perspectives. I do mainly painting and installation-based works. I understand my practice as collaborations between me; the materials and other phenomena; and also with other thinkers and artists. I enjoy using techniques that allow the pigments and liquids to form images on surfaces, finding these images inspirational in ways I might not have imagined. My artworks are often attempts to depict things that cannot be experienced through the human body and its senses. These things include microbial life forms that are too small to be consciously encountered in everyday life; the forest ecosystems where important processes are located underground and inside plants; and many large-scale phenomena that happen at such speeds and scales that they are beyond our comprehension.

Which question or theme is central in your work?

In spite of their gravity/complexity/impenetrability, I often return to big questions like: What is life? What is it to be a human? What is a human? How does the body function together with other bodies and lifeforms? What does it mean to say that life in the biosphere is symbiotic? I seek ways to articulate the deep dependencies of humankind. I think we have so many interesting new scientific findings that actually challenge the western understanding of what is life and human species. I don’t produce direct answers to these hot topics rather I spend time with the questions.

What was your first experience with art?

I would imagine it has been seeing some art works and/or prints in my parents/ relatives homes and or listening to some music. Actually, I think a fetus can hear music already in mothers womb, so possibly that.

I grew up on a farm in a small village, so I didn’t experience contemporary art that much during my childhood. I visited a contemporary art museum just after I had already started my studies in the art academy.

What is your greatest source of inspiration?

I’m always thinking about living creatures, the connections and dependencies. I love to read about scientific findings and learn more. My favourite thing is old growth forests and especially decaying tree trunks. I like to find links from the human body to other species and phenomena.

Working with materials and techniques motivates me, they allure me to spend time with them.

I often plan the works with the particular space in my mind.  I’m very curious to see how the work will be in the end and how it feels to experience them in that scale and light.

What do you need in order to create your work?

I need some materials and the qualities they allow, like a tree needs to grow for me to be able to have stretchers. I need pigments that have their origin in plants, minerals and industrial processes. I need thoughts and ideas that originate from other humans; I need shelter and energy.

What work or artist has most recently surprised you?

Few days ago, the Finnish extinction rebellion (elokapina) in collaboration with Swedish activists dyed the Finnish parliament house pillars with red water-soluble paint as a part of their protest about usage of mires. The image taken from the building and the washing of the paint was very powerful and beautiful.