In her exhibition Bloomrotmilk, photographer Hertta Kiiski explores the relationships between humans and other species through a lens of love, care, desire and freedom. In the space-sensitive installation built in the Photo North – Northern Photographic Centre’s main gallery, photography, moving images and objects intertwine. The exhibition explores closeness between species: how we are already intertwined with one another and what freedom means in such a relationship.
The exhibition begins with a zoo where everyone is looking at something. Kiiski has taken photos at locations including an abandoned zoo in Los Angeles, the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes in Paris, a dolphinarium and an owl café in Tokyo, and a monkey park in Kyoto. In these spaces, the animal is close to us, yet at a distance – so close that you can see it, yet so far away that it cannot disrupt the order.
In Kiiski’s works, the animal either looks back or doesn’t. It might not be interested in us at all. The closer you get to an animal in a zoo, the more barriers there are between the animal and the person: glass, a fence, a camera, the species, the name. A gaze can convey curiosity, care, desire or discipline. It can be a way of saying I see you and, at the same time, stay where I can see you.
In the exhibition, the gallery space begins to resemble a zoo and the zoo a gallery space. In both cases, bodies, photographs and objects have been arranged for viewing. The exhibition also features Kiiski’s daughters and the artist’s self-portraits. Suddenly, a human specimen is on display too. Who is watching and who is being watched?
At the heart of the exhibition is a video work in which a spider spins its web – at once a shelter, a structure and a trap. The connection to Louise Bourgeois’ 1999 sculpture Maman evokes thoughts of motherhood, care and labour. A spider is at once a caregiver, a builder and a predator. Motherhood can also involve many conflicting responsibilities, not all of which need to be resolved.
Monkeys, bears and other childlike figures scattered throughout the exhibition rooms invite viewers to come closer. Maybe you’d like to touch them, stroke them or buy them? Cuteness can make us want something before we even have a chance to stop and ask ourselves what we are doing. Kiiski explores the power of cuteness and how affection can also become intertwined with possession and control. Cuteness is soft but not necessarily innocent.
Kiiski does not attempt to resolve the complex relationship between humans and other species. She’d rather mix it up a little more. Love, care, desire and violence don’t stay confined to their own boxes. Protecting someone can mean keeping them inside. Looking can be a way of approaching someone, but it can also be a way of turning the other into an object.
The exhibition title Bloomrotmilk juxtaposes blooming (bloom), decay (rot) and nourishment (milk). Bodies exchange substances and fluids with one another, and nothing stays entirely on its own side. For Kiiski, when it comes to closeness between species, it may not be a question of how close we can get to the other. We are already intertwined.
Freedom is a word you can carry with you even when you’re in a cage.
Hertta Kiiski’s exhibition Bloomrotmilk is complemented by an essay inspired by the exhibition by curator Amanda Hakoköngäs. You can read the essay online here (.pdf-file opens on a new tab).
The exhibition opening is held on 4th of September, 17:00 to 19:00. The opening starts at the main gallery. Welcome!
A free, artist-led exhibition tour is held on Saturday 5th of September starting at 13:00. The tour lasts for about an hour. No registration needed, welcome.
Hertta Kiiski
Bloomrotmilk
5.9.–20.12.2026
Photo North – Nordic Photographic Centre, gallery
(image: Hertta Kiiski, Red-nailed aloe, 2023/2026)
