International Friendship - The Gifts from Africa

Finland is one of the most forested countries in the world. Almost 75 percent of the country is covered by forests - that's over 26 million hectares of which Jaakko Kahilaniemi owns 100 hectares. His conceptual project 100 Hectares of Understanding is his attempt to understand the forest area he inherited: »I study what nature has to offer to urbanized people and I will try to create new ways of thinking and ways to experience and feel the forest. I capture nature through my lens before applying the alchemical process that makes art out of the familiar.« Jaakko Kahilaniemi (b. 1989) has, among other awards, won the prestigious ING Unseen Talent Award Jury Prize in 2018. He has exhibited at Festival Circulation(s), Format Festival, Fotografia Europea and GETXO Photo Festival. His work has been featured in many publications, including Eikon, Greenpeace Magazine, Der Greif and HANT Magazine.