Image: Wallington Walk, Henna Asikainen, Photo Credit: Janina Sabaliauskaite
henna asikainen
Finnish artist Henna Asikainen creates work that questions our human relationship with nature, and the complex social and ecological issues that emerge from this. Our work with Henna has been an ongoing relationship, beginning with a D6 research residency in 2017 responding to the 2016 EU referendum and evolving into commissions, events and a series of participatory walks with community groups.
Henna is a multidisciplinary socially engaged artist. Her interests as an artist are in questions surrounding climate justice, migration, belonging and the human relationship with nature. Henna’s recent work has been participatory, combining ecological issues with social issues and has centred on engaging with people with lived experience of migration and displacement. These projects have been built around communal and social experiences within different landscape settings and have examined issues including inequalities in access to nature and green spaces, migration, the sense of belonging and human’s complex relationship with nature, while advocating the philosophy of friendship and radical hospitality.
We worked with Henna to produce Forage (2017), Delicate Shuttle (2018) and a participatory walk at Wallington (April 2019). Future Pasts is currently taking place, involving community walks during 2022 and an exhibition in June 2023. Find out more below about our journey with Henna, and how the projects have developed as part of There is Beauty in this Journey.
Henna is a multidisciplinary socially engaged artist. Her interests as an artist are in questions surrounding climate justice, migration, belonging and the human relationship with nature. Henna’s recent work has been participatory, combining ecological issues with social issues and has centred on engaging with people with lived experience of migration and displacement. These projects have been built around communal and social experiences within different landscape settings and have examined issues including inequalities in access to nature and green spaces, migration, the sense of belonging and human’s complex relationship with nature, while advocating the philosophy of friendship and radical hospitality.
We worked with Henna to produce Forage (2017), Delicate Shuttle (2018) and a participatory walk at Wallington (April 2019). Future Pasts is currently taking place, involving community walks during 2022 and an exhibition in June 2023. Find out more below about our journey with Henna, and how the projects have developed as part of There is Beauty in this Journey.
PUTTING DOWN ROOTS FOR NEW GENERATIONSTo celebrate Future Pasts, we joined with people and families with lived experience of migration and displacement to plant an oak sapling at the Land of Oak and Iron Heritage Centre in the Derwent Valley.
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FUTURE PASTS EXHIBITION, Gallery NorthHenna's exhibition at Gallery North brings together work produced during Future Pasts, celebrating the connections made through shared journeys, the long history of migration that has formed the UK, and the beauty and fragility of our local landscapes.
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Future pastsThis project invites people with lived experience of migration to discover local landscapes along Hadrian’s Wall, providing reflection on the interconnections between communities throughout time.
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Celebrating international migrants dayTo mark International Migrants Day 2022, we shared the story behind Future Pasts, our latest commission with Henna.
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forageForage was commissioned following Henna's 2017 research residency with us, which called for artists to consider their relationship with Europe.
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delicate shuttleDelicate Shuttle was an installation of thousands of white poplar leaves, that wove together a tapestry of fragmented and foraged experiences, presented as part of the Great Exhibition of the North, Refugee Week and the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018.
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In conversation in recognition of world refugee dayIn recognition of World Refugee Day 2019, Henna reflects upon her practice and the latest iteration of her ongoing participatory project with newly arrived communities at the National Trust site, Wallington.
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