The exhibition takes its title from studying ‘para’ the supernatural milk stealers of Nordic folklore. These mythological beings preceded the arrival of Christianity in Finland and can be seen, depicted as devils, on the interior of the church at Kalanti, Southwest Finland. The exhibition deals with the presentation of some particular aspects of the folklore of the rural springtime - a time when animals are released from into the open from barns and male snakes emerge from their winter subterranean hibernation. At its core, beliefs in this kind of folk knowledge resonate with a deeply human need to subvert the unknown forces that guide fate.

The exhibition was made with the grateful collaboration of: the Men's Choir of Mynämäki; Minna Hokka; the Tavastila Local Museum in the village of Mietoinen; Photographic Gallery Hippolyte and the support of the Saari Residence and the Kone Foundation.

[image credits:milla talassalo; poster design: Daneila Weirich]