Ancient Spirits lurks in Paris, Tiia Matikainen’s Ceramic Guardians taken Paris by surprised
Ancient Finnish spirits lurk in Paris! Tiia Matikainen’s ceramic guardians—half-human, half-plant stand watch as silent accusations at Ricardo Fernandes Gallery. Dark ceramic beings where Finnish forest myths crash into modern art. They grab you and don’t let go!! Matikainen’s magic trick? Turning hard clay into forms that seem frozen between states – not quite human, not quite plant. Raw yet refined.
—
Ancient Finnish spirits lurk in Paris, and they’re not happy with what we’ve done to their world. Tiia Matikainen’s ceramic guardians—towering, spectral, and unapologetically eerie—transform the gallery into a supernatural council meeting where visitors are on trial for environmental crimes.
These seven imposing figures, standing over two meters tall, embody the “haltija” of Finnish folklore—nature spirits who once protected forests, lakes, and stones. Now reimagined as hybrid creatures caught between human and plant forms, they serve as silent accusations against our environmental negligence. Their dark ceramic surfaces—glossy in places, volcanic in others—seem to absorb light rather than reflect it, creating an almost gravitational presence in the space.
Matikainen’s technical prowess is evident in works like “Salojen Vartija” (Guardian of the Wilderness), where root-like extensions anchor the figure while its upper body morphs into humanoid features. The play between matte black bases and high-gloss blue-black glazed areas creates an illusion of movement—these guardians seem to shift position when you look away, a sensation enhanced by the dramatic shadow play orchestrated through strategic lighting.
What separates this exhibition from mere folklore revival is Matikainen’s cross-cultural technical innovation. After studying at Finland’s Aalto University and London’s Royal College of Art, she incorporated Japanese raku firing techniques learned during her 2019 Kyoto residency. This influence appears in “Koivun Tytär” (Daughter of Birch), where crackling patterns create vein-like textures that seem alive under gallery lights.
The exhibition also features smaller wall-mounted “portraits” of endangered Finnish ecosystems. “Järven Silmä” (Lake’s Eye) incorporates actual sediment from Lake Saimaa, Finland’s largest lake now threatened by industrial pollution. By literally embedding endangered environments into her work, Matikainen blurs the line between art that represents environmental concerns and art that physically contains them.
A subtle soundtrack of Finnish old-growth forest recordings completes the sensory experience, transporting visitors from Paris to rapidly disappearing wilderness areas. The effect is both haunting and accusatory—these spirits have traveled far from home to deliver their message.
Matikainen describes these works as “embodied warnings,” physical manifestations that bypass intellectual arguments to create visceral responses. As viewers stand before these transforming figures, they’re confronted with a profound question: what might it mean to once again see nature as inhabited by consciousness worthy of respect? The silence of these ceramic guardians speaks volumes, and their message lingers long after viewing.
Address:
Ricardo Fernandes Gallery
132 – 140 rue des Rosiers
Marché Dauphine (gallery 95)
93400 Saint-Ouen
