Finland presents two solo exhibitions under the heading Falling Trees: Terike Haapoja in the Nordic Pavilion and one of Antti Laitinen in the Finnish Aalto Pavilion. True to its title, the exhibition concept revisits a dramatic event at the 2011 biennale: the abrupt falling of a large tree that left the Finnish pavilion severely damaged and effectively closed the exhibition ahead of time. With this singular event as its starting point, Falling Trees reassesses our relationship with nature through multiple means of re-enactment and repetition.

With her elaborate collection of works Terike Haapoja challenges us to ponder a plethora of profound questions: the limits to the centrality of the human subject within nature, the role of technology in shaping our worldview, and the possibilities for an elemental politics. Haapoja has converted the pavilion into a research laboratory of sorts, a space for an open dialogue between art, natural science and environmental ethics.

Antti Laitinen offers us multiple stories about the Sisyphean qualities of human endeavours. His art is characterised by the physical testing of limits, revealing a fascinating tragicomedy embedded in our relationship with nature. In the exhibition Laitinen presents us two new installations and a selection of earlier work.