A Tale of Two Worlds: How the Finnish national epic charmed an artist from China
Hong’s Kalevala series was selected to be exhibited in the Wiurilan Summer exhibition in Salo in 2023. PHOTO: VELI SERTTI
Oksana Chelysheva
Published 10.10.2024 11:10
The red-brick house in Espoo is surrounded by apple trees. Inside, one can find an art studio with a view to a Finnish forest, but also with a Buddha statue and bamboo growing on the windowsill.
If one continues to look around, they will find tens of paintings with images that many Finns would find familiar. Scenes from the Finland’s national epic, Kalevala, fill the room.
Still, the images look different from the classical Kalevala-paintings from the turn of the 20th century. The human figures may be faceless, their movements being expressed through multiplication of human legs and arms. The overall atmosphere is more mystical.
With a closer look, subtle Chinese characters can be found hidden in the shadows of trees or within the deep blues of Finnish lakes. If one can read Chinese, they will notice that the markings contain excerpts from the Chinese translations of Kalevala.
The paintings are work of Hong Liu-Sertti. We are standing at her home studio in Espoo.
Liu-Sertti comes from the city of Guangzhou in China. Twenty years ago, after marrying a Finnish man, she moved to Finland.
The Kalevala project has been her major work in Finland in the last years. The series currently consists of 64 paintings. Some of them have already been exhibited while others are awaiting major exhibitions in 2025 in Porvoo, Tampere, and Hyvinkää.
Female inspirations
Liu-Sertti’s journey with Kalevala began at a Finnish summer cottage shortly after moving to Finland. There, she came across a plate by Arabia depicting scenes from the Kalevala.
“I didn’t know what it was about, but as I looked at it, I recognized its beauty,” Liu-Sertti recalls.
It took her years to form her own interpretation of the Finnish epic. Her knowledge of Finnish was not good enough to understand the original text by Elias Lönnrot. Instead, she spent time reading and comparing all three existing Chinese translations, carefully working to develop her own understanding.
Liu-Sertti feels a strong connection to the female characters of the Kalevala.
“Even the witches of the North deserved to be treated more fairly,” she says.
The epic’s finale, where Marjatta gives birth to a child destined to become king, helped Liu-Sertti better understand contemporary Finnish life.
“It explains why Finnish people are so focused on their children, their education, and their freedom of choice.”
Blending Chinese and Western Art
It’s a long way from Guangzhou to Espoo, both geographically and mentally. In China, Liu-Sertti lived in a bustling city of 19 million people, where skyscrapers race towards the sky and apartment blocks reach as far as the eye can see.
Even before moving to Finland, Hong Liu-Sertti was aware of how different her future home would be.
“I asked my husband-to-be if his parents approved of our marriage, and he replied that the decision was entirely his,” she recalls. In contrast, she had asked her own parents for their approval.
Another striking difference was Finland’s close connection to nature.
“It was so beautiful and so different from China. In Guangzhou, lakes quickly turn into tourist spots. Forests are far away, hard to reach.”
In Espoo, houses seem to blend harmoniously with the landscape and the forest is just five minutes away from Liu-Sertti’s home.
“I have even learnt to pick up mushrooms but only the ones I was shown to be edible,” she smiles.
Western art is best appreciated from afar, Chinese art up close
Liu-Sertti learned her craft in Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. Her life has given her a great opportunity to compare the differences between Chinese and Western traditions of art.
“Western art is bold, with rich colours and intense brushstrokes”, she explains. “A Western masterpiece is best viewed from a distance to grasp its overall impact”.
Chinese art, on the other hand, is all about tiny details.
“You need to examine a Chinese traditional piece of art up close to fully appreciate its details.”
Liu-Sertti also sees a difference in how the two traditions portrait the nature.
“In traditional Chinese art, nature is the primary focus. In Western art, nature often serves as a backstage for biblical scenes or portraits of nobility.”
Liu-Sertti’s style is a blend of both: the subtlety of Chinese art and the expressive power of Western techniques. A good example is a work from Liu-Sertti’s Kalevala series, Three heroes take Sampo to the boat.
In her interpretation of the scene, ghost-like, light-blue figures are shown dragging the Sampo, a magical object that brings good fortune. The heroes are faceless, and the ropes they pull become tangled, symbolizing the struggle in their efforts. Liu-Sertti describes this as the heroes’ journey toward developing human nature – growing with each step forward, standing tall and unyielding.
Discovering the soul of the Finnish culture
Kalevala has had a deep impact on Liu-Sertti’s mind.
“It was a way to understand the Finnish culture of people being ready to overcome hardships,” she says.
Her work with Kalevala is far from over. She plans to continue her series with portraits of the Kalevala main characters based on real people – both Finnish and non-Finnish.
The first portrait is already complete. In it, her 13-year-old daughter Viivi is seen as the goddess Ilmatar.
In Kalevala, Ilmatar plays a part in the creation of the world. Viivi chose this figure herself, after discussing about her significance with her mother. Each future portrait will similarly reflect the vision of the person depicted, as they select their own Kalevala character.
She feels that Kalevala deals with themes that people from any culture can attach to, such as overcoming hardship and suffering. She’s also impressed in how Kalevala portraits the dual nature of the human being, with both dark and bright things.
“In our traditional art, a good character is just perfect, no flaws. In the Kalevala, no character is absolutely good or evil.”