Anna Uschanov: Years of Plenty

”I am interested in the slow and almost invisible changes taking place in the forest. Decaying fungi and bacteria inevitably gnaw away at the decayed tree trunk. Something small breaks something big into pieces. If you press your nail deep enough into the surface of decaying wood, you can find a whole new microscopic society that runs entirely on its own operating principles, but is linked to the surrounding forest.

On the other hand, I am also interested in the rapid, man-made traces and changes in the forest. The stump of a freshly felled tree opens up a hidden view of the tree’s annual rings from human eyes. The tree has archived summers and winters inside into neat circles of varying thickness. The smooth surface of the stump disappears over the years, turning into an unrecognizable lump.”

For her works, Uschanov has observed the decay and disappearance of wood and tried to pinpoint the slow change taking place in them. For her, the works and their creation are an attempt to jump from human timeline to the timeline of the forest.

Anna Uschanov (b.1985) is a Helsinki-based painter and puppeteer. She has graduated from the Free Art School and the puppet theatre programme of the Turku Art Academy. Playing with scale, stretching or shrinking it is an essential part of her work. Feeling, exploring and combining different materials creates different landscapes and material entities for her.