Exhibitions

Art Center Ahjo, Hiili-Room: Taru-Carita Pullinen

TARU-CARITA PULLINEN - Wanderers and Contemplators 22.1.-9.2.2025

The exhibition Wanderers and Contemplators consists of the Wanderers series of drawings and larger works centered around themes of contemplation. In her work, Pullinen reflects on the relationship between humans and nature, and between humans and animals. In her images, people and animals wander through different landscapes. Pullinen seeks a way back to nature, to reconnect with the natural world, and to become part of it—away from the current state of the vast conflict between humanity and nature. Drawing serves as Pullinen's way of processing the sorrow and uncertainty caused by the ecological crisis. The journey to nature is both a physical and an inner journey of the mind. Pullinen’s style can be described as magical realism.

In her works, human-bodied figures with the head of a curlew and intuitively chosen animals wander through various environments. Animals have always been subjects of various beliefs—they have been viewed as gods, totemic figures, or mystical messengers between this world and the afterlife. To Pullinen, the animal is a mystery.

Birds greatly fascinate Pullinen. The bird is a masterpiece of nature. Over 9,000 species of birds are known, and they are spread across all continents. However, as a result of human activity, bird populations have dramatically decreased, and many species are now threatened with extinction. For Pullinen, the bird also symbolizes freedom and the journey of thought in imagination.

In recent years, Pullinen’s technique has evolved into various mixed-media combinations on paper. The works in the Vaeltaja series are clearly drawn, while the larger pieces exist somewhere between drawing and painting. In her work, she combines fiber-tip pens, liquid ink, watercolor, watercolor pencils, and dry pastels. The combination of different tools allows for a variety of handwriting within a single piece. Pullinen’s style is rich and detailed. The key to her process is experimentation, playing with different tools, and the constant search for the new. One can find influences from art history in her works, such as surrealism and symbolism.

Pullinen hails from Joutsenosa, South Karelia, but for the past 15 years, she has lived and worked in Oulu.