Polygala Biennale – Plants, Animals and Things In-between is a group exhibition created in dialogue with the collections, research, locations, and stories of the Finnish Museum of Natural History. The exhibition features new and old works that explore nature, its strangeness, and its representations.
The name of the exhibition comes from the Polygala plant genus, commonly known as milkworts. The scientific name means "much milk," as ancient Greeks believed the plant increased milk production in cattle. In the exhibition, "much milk" symbolizes art that enriches life.
The Polygala Biennale will spread across the museum's staircase, PopUp Balcony, History of Life, Story of Bones, and Wildlife of the World exhibition spaces 16.10.2024–5.1.2025.
Artists
Andrea Coyotzi Borja and Anna Jensen's How to Life project explores the world's strangeness through artistic research. Their video Bad Methodologies: Peculiar Frog tests the limits of physical control. Anna Pekkala’s works draw from the depths of the sea and humor, relating to the marine life and broad-headed fish on display in the museum. Tereza Holubová’s installations investigate human-animal relationships and the tension between beauty and ugliness. Teresa Kari’s work combines living and dead materials, creating a space where fragile, emerging knowledge takes form. Mette Matilda’s ceramic and wax pieces move between the natural and the artificial. Raimo Saarinen focuses on plants, soil, and water, examining how Western concepts of nature impact ecosystems. Photographer Emma Suominen captures the individuality of stuffed animals from the museum’s collections in touching portraits. Illustrator and visual artist Juliana Hyrri has crafted the visual identity of the exhibition, where nature’s beauty and strangeness curl into letters.
Polygala Biennale is organized in collaboration with the Finnish Museum of Natural History and supported by the Kone Foundation.