karoline hjorth

For three days every July, Finnskogen in the South East of Norway turns into a republic. Finnskogen literally translates as Finnish forest, and it has been shaped by migrating people from the Savolax area in Finland since the late 16th and early-to-mid-17th centuries. One of the characteristics of the forest Finnish culture is slash-and-burn farming along with a strong and sometimes mythical connection to nature.

This is the first dive into the epicenter of this culture in a village called Svullrya, soaking up local mist, mushrooms and monologues on a mission to capture some of the rich oral history of this region, as part of the Svullrya Development Project. Follow the action at the Eyes as Big as Plates site!