Photo Exhibit by Eric Kotila, Now Thru March 28 from 1-4 p.m. at UC Berkeley's Moses Hall #201 -- " A Poignant Idyll: The National Cemetery / Finland"

Showing NOW through March 28


A Poignant Idyll: The National Cemetery of Finland
A Photo Exhibit by Eric Kotila, Institute of European Studies

Ongoing: February 17- March 28, Weekdays 1:00-4:00 pm (except during other events)

Expansive Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki manages in microcosm to present the history of the country in an aesthetically magical, symbolically rich environment evocative of Finnish identity and nationalism. The graves – most often in Swedish, Russian, and Finnish – concretely attest to the country’s trajectory from a Swedish possession, to a Russian Duchy, to an independent modern nation.

Photographer Eric Kotila captures its siting and landscape design, various chapels, and exquisite grave-markers in his photo essay undertaken with sponsorship from the Finlandia Foundation and IES. The environment captures the design history of a country which values architecture, landscape architecture, and the arts so markedly. Finns both prominent, such as Alvar Aalto and Field Marshal Mannerheim, and humble are buried and memorialized here, often with striking, creative gravestones ranging from Baroque to Art Nouveau. The exhibit is cosponsored by the Department of Scandinavian and the Finnish Studies Program at IES.

Eric is a Bay Area Finnish-American who is an accomplished camera artist.