Forest ash, or aspen, belongs to Finland’s native trees. It is a fast-growing tree that does not live for very long. Still, the rhizome of an aspen may be thousands of years old, although an individual tree often does not live to be more than a hundred years old. On the other hand, our oldest aspens may be up to 300 years old. When the old trunks die, new shoots emerge from the rhizome. Aspen weaklings are often from the same parent tree.
Aspen is not a highly valued tree from the point of view of the forest industry. However, the aspen has also been called the tree of life, because it is an extremely important tree in terms of biodiversity. About a thousand living species live in the wound; fungi, mosses, lichens, insects and mammals, of which more than a hundred are dependent on the wound and dozens of them are endangered. About a dozen bird species nest in it, and mammals such as flying squirrels use it as nesting wood. Several species of butterflies and beetles also make aspen their home.
Haava’s portrait is a body of work that includes 40 drawings that together form an animation. The work is part of the Tree Portraits project, which started a few years ago. The first Portraits of Trees were drawings of large old trees growing in the Häme area. The different stories, maps, coordinates, sources and trips related to the trees that ended up as portraits were also interesting. Some of the trees also had a specific name established over time.
Forests and trees have always had a special place in Finnish culture, and Finns are still not very far from their own forestry history. The fate connection between trees and humans is still part of an existing and vibrant cultural tradition. The history of the trees and their attachment to the place give them very human characteristics. Although nature conservation themes also play a role in the background, in Haava’s portrait the subject has been approached especially from the perspective of human temporality, the limitations of perception and the themes of existence. Haava’s portrait is also an attempt to abandon the traditional subject-object division between human and non-human and to look at the landscape as an equal being.
Various sayings and beliefs are associated with aspen. “Shivering like an aspen leaf” refers to fear, cold, or excessive emotionality. According to the old folk belief, the rustling of aspen leaves was due to the fact that Jesus’ cross was made of aspen wood. The leaves of the trees mourned this so that they could never rest. For the same reason, coffins were not made from the wound. The same clamor would continue in the coffin, and the deceased would not have peace even in the grave.
The scientific name of the wound, Populus tremula, means trembling poplar. The portrait of a wound is also a story about fragility, vulnerability and fear. Vulnerability can be thought of in many ways. On the one hand, Haava’s portrait can be seen as a portrait of a person in the middle of an uncertain world, on the other hand, it is purely a portrait of the wound itself. There is still something comforting in the slow movement and inexorable passage of time.
Aspen is the loudest tree in the forest. The quivering of the leaves is caused by their long, slender, flat and slightly twisted petiole. The leaf is not quite balanced, so it starts to move even at the slightest gust of wind. The rustling sound is created by the movement of the leaves and when they hit each other. The rustling of the leaves of the wound is a soundscape familiar to Finns, which has a cleansing and calming effect. You can almost hear the scream, even though there is no sound in Haava’s portrait .
Kati Lehtonen
