Scotland based French-Finnish artist Elina Bry charmed Ii with her warm and open approach. During her residency period, she worked with her socially engaged project, that explores the relationship between humans and nature in our time of climate anxiety and climate change.
As half-Finnish Bry has a strong bond to Finnish nature and she also speaks good Finnish – so she was able to connect with the community. Bry aims to bring the voices and feelings of local people on nature and climate change to a larger audience.
In Ii Elina has worked with school children from the Valtari school, the clients of the Pohde rehabilitative work activities, and other people of all ages from Ii. She organised a choir that performed in the opening of KulttuuriKauppilas summer exhibition, went swimming in Iijoki – preceded by sauna of course – and roamed the forests and fields in the area with local inhabitants.
Elina Brys residency was organised in co-operation with Photo North, Streetlevel Photoworks (Scotland) and the Oulu2026 -project. Bry was chosen to the KulttuuriKauppila residency program through Photo North’s Adaptation-project. Her production residency in KulttuuriKauppila will eventually result in an exhibition in the Oulu Art Museum in October 2026 as part of the Oulu2026 cultural programme.
Photos Jaani Föhr and Maiju Pohjanheimo.